


Are you following me?

by tothetardisandbeyond



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Action, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Drama, F/F, F/M, I'll tag them later because they're spoilers kind of, Identity Reveal, Is that suspense I see, M/M, Misunderstandings, Ozai’s A+ Parenting, Slow Burn, Sokka works at the tea shop, There's some more relationships, Uncle Iroh's matchmaking, Uncle Iroh's tea shop, Zukka tea shop au, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, Zuko tries so hard, but there will be a happy ending, eventually, zukka - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-28
Updated: 2020-12-01
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:34:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 24
Words: 69,410
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25574407
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tothetardisandbeyond/pseuds/tothetardisandbeyond
Summary: In which Sokka works at Uncle Iroh's tea shop, thinks a little too much about the annoyingly hot boy, and despairs that the boy won't leave.
Relationships: Aang/Katara (Avatar), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 259
Kudos: 511





	1. Chapter 1

Sokka is busy cleaning a table when the door opens, so he just says over his shoulder, “Welcome to The Jasmine Dragon! Could you give me one moment?”

“Yeah, sure, take your time.”

So Sokka hurriedly finishes cleaning and does a not super graceful speedwalk back to the cash register.

And that’s when he looks up.

Oh. Holy mackerel, this dude is gorgeous.

He’s not sure what expression is on his face. But judging by the look of concern he’s getting, he probably looks like he died a little bit inside.

“How can I help you?” Sokka manages, pasting on a smile.

The other boy looks uncomfortable, but he places some generic order and takes a seat.

Sokka knows he should be remembering what the order is or making tea or doing something productive. But no, he’s busy watching the boy run a hand through his slightly shaggy black hair. It looks like he’s starting to grow it out, and Sokka just desperately wants to run his fingers through it. There’s a wide burn scar on one side of his face, and as Sokka is (not creepily) watching, the boy pulls some of his hair down to cover it a bit.

The boy’s dressed pretty simply. Just a regular t-shirt and jeans. But Sokka is already wondering if he can get another part-time job just composing sonnets about his arms.

And of course, because Sokka has no luck whatsoever, that’s the moment the other guy looks up.

There’s a second of supremely awkward eye contact, and then Sokka remembers that he’s paid to make tea and not to stare at hot customers. So he starts fixing the boy’s drink.

oOo

The next day, the boy’s back. Sokka’s heart does a disturbing little flip, but he’s determined to be less weird today. So he gets out all the usual greetings, remembers the boy’s order of jasmine green tea, and makes it without a hitch.

Privately, he wonders if it’s horribly unadventurous to get jasmine tea at The Jasmine Dragon, but he keeps that to himself.

He gives the guy a smile when he sets the tea down and that’s that.

Baby steps, Sokka thinks.

oOo

They start developing a little routine, where Hot Dude (and honestly, Sokka needs a better nickname for him) shows up, Sokka presents him with his usual drink, and then he hangs out in the tea shop for a few hours.

This goes on for a few weeks, and Sokka’s not sure how much more of this his heart can take. He even rants to Katara and Aang about the hair and the arms and the cute little frown the boy gets when he seems to be doing homework at what’s quickly becoming his table.

Aang has this disturbing grin on his face.

Katara just looks at him. “Please, please, just ask him out already. Or I’ll get Toph to do it.”

Sokka just stares at his sister in betrayal and stops bringing up his favorite customer.

oOo

A week after that, the boy…just doesn’t seem to want to leave? He shows up at the beginning of Sokka’s evening shift and basically just flops face down on the table.

Normally, Sokka would check on him or something. But the dark circles under his eyes are brutal. Being a college student himself, Sokka is no stranger to late hours and decides to just let the boy rest.

But 5pm comes and goes….so does 6pm. Close to 7pm, Sokka musters what little courage he has and walks over to the only remaining customer.

“Sir, we’re about to close in a few minutes,” he says.

The boy jolts up. “Oh, um, I actually know the owner? He told me to wait for him here.”

“You know the owner? I’m sorry, but he never mentioned anything to me about someone waiting for him, so I’m going to have to ask you to leave as we’re about to close.”

Sokka thinks he’s being moderately polite.

But the guy is already starting to look annoyed. “Yeah, but I’m telling you, I definitely know the owner, and he said to wait.”

“Okay, but I can’t just leave you in here after I close, so…”

The dude has a serious scowl on his face now and looks like he’s about to argue. But to Sokka’s surprise, he just nods and heads out.

oOo

It’s been a whole week of this. Sokka is becoming increasingly tired of this boy.

He’s fixing some girl’s ginseng tea and trying to glare over his shoulder at The Customer Who Won’t Leave.

It’s not like he’s making a mess or currently giving Sokka a valid reason to kick him out. He’s just there. Constantly. Sometimes, he wonders if the black-haired nuisance is a permanent fixture in the place.

And he knows that once again, he’s going to have to argue with him to get him to leave. Pretty or not, he’s starting to get on Sokka’s nerves.

oOo

He is done with this boy. He won’t leave until Sokka is pushing him out the door. He keeps saying something about knowing the owner. But Sokka’s new. It’s only been…10 times. However nice Iroh is, he doesn’t want to bother him already about someone who just won’t clear out at an appropriate time. It’s not like the guy is dangerous or something. Just really annoying. So as usual, Sokka just sucks it up and deals.

oOo

A couple days later, Sokka is just so done. The one day he takes a morning shift. He really wasn’t prepared to die today. He never finished his calculus homework, and his professor is nasty. He’ll probably tell the entire class not to be like Sokka and finish their homework or they’ll end up dead like him. Even he can admit he’s a bit hysterical right now, and he may be overreacting a little.

“Are you following me?” Sokka shrieks.

“What? No!” the other boy shouts back. “I told you! I know the owner-“

Sokka doesn’t let him finish. “Oh, oh, do you now? Why are you always here?? Hmmm? Why don’t you leave until I’m pushing you out? And now you’re here?? Behind the counter! Are you stalking me?? I’m not dying like this! In the middle of a tea shop with- with tea everywhere! Nope! Not happening! I’ll fight you! I know karate and jiu-jiu-“

“Jiujitsu?”

“Yeah, that one! So come at me!”

His stalker just looks at him and his wind-milling arms, before covering his face and groaning. “I’m telling you, the owner asked me to fill in today-“

“A likely story! That’s just what a kidnapper would say! We’ll just see about that. I’m calling Iroh!” Sokka interrupts again.

“Fine! Do it!”

“Fine!”

Sokka’s a little thrown off by the easy acceptance of this dude, but he’s watched enough Criminal Minds to know that these people can be tricksy. So he keeps pointing a spoon menacingly at the other boy and pulls his phone out from his back pocket and dials.

A few rings go by before he hears a “Hello?” on the other end.

“Hi, Mr. Iroh, sir, this is Sokka from the tea shop?”

“It’s always nice to hear from you, Sokka. What can I do for you?”

“Uh, yes! We have someone here who keeps hanging out at the tea shop long past closing even though I tried to kick them out! And now they’re here behind the counter and insisting they’re covering someone’s shift! But I’ve never seen them work here before, so do you know who this is?? He keeps saying he knows you?”

He can hear what sounds like muffled laughter for a second. “Sokka, is this a scowly boy with black hair?”

“…yes?”

“That’s my nephew, Zuko! He helps me out at the shop when someone needs a sick day. He hasn’t introduced himself before?”

“…no, no, he hasn’t,” Sokka mutters. “Anyway, thank you for clearing that up, sir, I mean, Mr. Iroh?”

“Iroh is perfectly fine,” Iroh chuckles. “Don’t be too hard on my nephew. He’s a bit shy, but he means well. Did you need anything else?”

“Nope! I think that’s everything! Thank you again,” Sokka says, dreaming about the ground opening up and swallowing him.

“Of course. Enjoy your day, Sokka. Please don’t hesitate to call if anything else comes up.”

“Thank you! Have a great day!” Sokka hangs up and takes a deep breath.

Zuko is raising his eyebrow at him.

“Uh, yep, okay, I’m really sorry. But also, why didn’t you just tell me?” he almost shouts. But Sokka is the picture of restraint and doesn’t.

“I tried! You wouldn’t let me! And even if I did, would you have believed me?”

And Sokka stops and thinks. “Yeah, okay, that’s fair.”

Iroh’s nephew seems to deflate a little. “Can we just get ready for the early morning rush now?”

“Yeah, sure, buddy. But hey, again, I’m sorry about that. I just really didn’t know.”

Zuko shrugs, looking a bit uncomfortable. “I guess I can’t blame you. It’s not like Uncle was ever here when I was. But I’m sorry I kept staying so late. I’m supposed to move in with Uncle this week, so I’ve been hanging around the shop, so we can move my things after it closes. But I’m sorry I made your job harder.”

Ugh. Sokka wishes he could go back to being frustrated. But Zuko looks like he’s trying really hard to fix things, and it’s honestly really cute.

“Yeah, I’m not going to say it didn’t suck a bit. But I guess it’s just a weird situation all around,” Sokka grimaces after a beat.

“Yeah.”

Sokka wants to say he engages this hot not-stalker in deep conversation, and they both fall in love and live happily ever after.

Nope.

“Right,” Sokka says. “Um, I guess let’s get everything wiped down and ready to go?”

Zuko nods, and they work the rest of the day….in mostly silence.

So much for Sokka’s love life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I wrote this in a hurry, so please let me know if there's any errors. It definitely needs another read through. I know they aren't even really friends yet, so this is apparently going to be a slow burn. I'm estimating 3 chapters possibly. But who knows. Hope you enjoy! This is based on the tumblr post I made about this au, so if you would like to see that, I'm janedrakey131 on tumblr :)


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Toph gives the best advice, Sokka is a good dude, and Zuko has a rough day.

“So how about you fill me in here, lover boy?” Toph grins unsettlingly.

“…fill you in on what?” Sokka tries.

“Come on, you’ve already told Katara and Twinkle Toes, and you’re probably not going to tell Suki, because that’d be a bit awk, so why not tell little old me?” Toph bats her eyelashes.

“Okay, okay, just stop doing that! It’s creepy,” Sokka caves immediately. “But my break’s ending soon, so…”

He tries to get up to escape to the counter, but Toph grabs his arm and pulls him back down.

“Nice try, buddy, but I know Iroh doesn’t care about how long your breaks are as long as you don’t keep anyone waiting. And as far as I know, there’s no one else here. Unless, your boy, Zuko, is napping at one of those tables over there.”

Sokka, despite knowing that Zuko hasn’t stopped by yet, does a double take and has to force himself not to go over and inspect all the tables for any sign of Zuko.

“Alright, you win, but only five more minutes, okay? I’m still pretty new to this job,” he says.

“You’ve been working here almost a month, you know Iroh loves you, and there’s literally no one here. Chill, my dude,” she says. “Zuko can’t just appear out of thin air either.”

Sokka bites his tongue. He _knows_ that. But there’s the slight problem of his brain not communicating that information to the queasy feeling in his stomach.

“Okay, you’re right. Ugh, I just don’t know what to do, Toph!” he wails. “He’s so hot. Like his hair is so pretty?? And why are his arms so nice?? And his eyes are this really stupidly gorgeous yellow. Do people even have yellow eyes, Toph?? And Toph, Toph, _his voice_?? Did the universe just pick literally everything I want in a guy, and drop it in one person?”

Toph just smirks. “Katara was right. You got it _bad_. Maybe I should step in.”

“Um, nope, nope, nope, that’s okay. You don’t need to do that. I’m sure you’re super busy with…physics…things?”

“What do you mean, physics things? I wouldn’t be caught dead in that class. Physics is your handwavey field. But I see you trying to distract me. I thought you didn’t like him now? Something about how he wouldn’t leave?”

Sokka vows not to tell Katara and Aang anything ever again. “I mean, I think we sorted that out. He’s Iroh’s nephew, and I didn’t know…”

“…so you just kept shoving him out of here?” Toph says incredulously.

“…no?” Sokka lies unconvincingly.

“Wow, Sokka. You didn’t think to ask Iroh?”

“No, I did!” Sokka insists. “But I didn’t want to bother him if it was just some random asshole who just didn’t know when to leave.”

“…and Zuko telling you he knew the owner just didn’t register?” Toph says.

“Uh, no comment,” he grins weakly.

“Have you seen him since?”

“Yeah, he’s been picking up a few more shifts recently. But we don’t really talk much.”

“Lover boy, if you want anything to happen, you better get your shit together, or someone else will date him.”

“I know! I just don’t know what to say?? What if he’s straight?” Sokka says.

“Then he’s straight, bro. If he’s Iroh’s nephew, he’s probably a good dude. Worst case, you’ll just end up friends. But right now, maybe just focus on talking to him. You’re good at talking to people, remember?”

Sokka sometimes forgets that Toph can give surprisingly good pep talks.

“Yeah, you’re right. Thanks, Toph.”

“Anytime, buddy. I have to head to class, but this weekend with the whole crew. You’ll be there, right?”

“Yup! Katara said she’d hunt me down and tie me to a chair otherwise. Not that I wouldn’t want to be there, but my attendance will be enforced,” he laughs.

Toph stands and swings her backpack over her shoulder. “Your sister is the right kind of scary. Later then, dude.”

oOo

A few hours later, Zuko wanders into the tea shop.

Sokka bites back his usual “Welcome to The Jasmine Dragon,” because the last time he tried, Zuko just gave him a withering look. Sure, sometimes, Sokka is super oblivious, but he got the hint.

Obviously, it would feel weird to be welcomed back to his own home. He failed to mention that “moving his stuff over to his uncle’s place” meant to the apartment above the tea shop. So the dude would just sit on the bench across the street after Sokka locked up and wait for his uncle to let him in. Iroh had to ask Sokka if he wouldn’t mind leaving the key with Zuko, so his nephew could just head up to his own room.

So now, Sokka feels extremely awkward.

But he has Toph’s voice in the back of his head telling him to get his shit together. He’s already apologized for kicking him out repeatedly and for barring him from entering his own home. It’s been like a week. They’re good.

“Hey, Zuko, how’s it going?” Look at him being all polite and good with the small talk. He has nothing to worry about.

Except Zuko looks completely shocked that Sokka is bothering to talk to him. So that’s not great.

“Um, fine, I guess? How about you?”

Well, this is…a great conversation.

“Oh, you know, same old, same old. Did you want more jasmine tea today?”

Smooth, Sokka, smooth.

“Uh, I think I’m okay for now…but thanks.”

Okay, then. But Sokka looks at Zuko a bit more carefully, and he doesn’t look so good. He looks extremely tired and almost washed out, and he’s shivering even with the cozy-looking sweater he has on.

“Yo, Zuko, you feeling okay? You look a little under the weather.”

Zuko kind of just sways dangerously for a second and falls.

“Oh, shit.” But Sokka somehow manages to race out from behind the counter to catch him.

“Um, okay, we’re just going to sit you down right here,” Sokka says, guiding the other boy to the table closest to the counter.

“I’m fine, I’m fine. Sorry, I just got a little lightheaded,” Zuko says tiredly.

“Buddy, you look like you could be pushed over by a light breeze. So you’re going to sit your ass down, while I make you some lemon ginger tea. And then we’re going to call your uncle.”

“No! No, you don’t have to call Uncle. I’m not sick, I swear. I’m just tired. Honest. And a bit cold. I forgot my coat this morning.”

“Zuko, you just fell? And how did you forget your coat? It’s winter??”

“I- I got a text from my father,” he says blankly, as if that answers all of Sokka’s questions.

Sokka has no idea what that has to do with anything, but Zuko is starting to look a little less pale. So he decides to drop it for now.

“Okay, no calling your uncle. And I’m not going to ask you about the father thing. But what I am going to do is make you some tea. That alright?”

Zuko nods. But he has a weird expression on his face, almost as if he’s stunned that someone is listening to him, not pushing for details, and still willing to help him out. And that’s a little too heartbreaking for Sokka to wrap his brain around, so he puts his hand on Zuko’s shoulder for a second and then walks back to the counter.

He’s busy making some chamomile tea, because it seems like Zuko needs some nice calming tea instead of the lemon ginger he’d been thinking about.

This has been a weird day. He was going to ask out the hot dude who’d recently upgraded from The Customer Who Would Not Leave to Zuko. But Sokka just wants to wrap Zuko in three blankets and give him a cookie.

So he does.

Well, minus the blankets.

But Zuko blinks at the tea and the accompanying cookie.

“You know these don’t go together at all, right?” he laughs a little.

“Well, excuse me,” Sokka sniffs. “You look sad, dude. I’m just trying to cheer you up a little. But if you don’t want the cookie, then I’ll eat it!”

He goes to grab it back, but Zuko’s already got one hand wrapped around the mug and one hand pulling the cookie towards him.

“No, no, I’ll have it.” And Zuko, the maniac, makes eye contact with him and _licks_ the cookie.

Sokka bursts out laughing, “I’m not- hahaha- I wasn’t actually going to steal your cookie!”

“I don’t know, you were looking pretty shifty. Like a cookie thief,” Zuko insists, but he grins briefly.

Sokka just smiles back. And they’re back to the awkward eye contact thing.

So he finally looks away and heads back to the counter to clean up. “Let me know if you need anything else before I start closing up.”

Zuko nods, carefully sipping his tea.

Sokka leaves him to it.

oOo

It’s a while later. Sokka’s finally finished cleaning, and he’s just pulled his coat and gloves on. He’s wrapping his scarf around his neck and checking his keys when he hears someone clear their throat behind him.

“Uh, thanks, for today,” Zuko says, clearly embarrassed. “Sorry I fell on you and was kind of out of it today.”

Sokka waves it away. “No worries, man. I know we’re not close or anything, but you looked like you were having a rough day. So anytime. I mean, not that I want you falling for me all over the place-”

Way to put your foot in your fucking mouth, Sokka.

“I mean, not falling for me, falling for me! Just falling. Yeah, I’m going to stop now,” he babbles.

Zuko is starting to look bright red.

“Um, yeah, I know what you meant. I’m just going to…go upstairs now? Um, thanks again for today though?”

“Yeah, sure thing, buddy!” Sokka says, handing over the door key, and then he books it to the door.

oOo

Zuko smiles a little. It’s been a shit day. But the new boy is honestly really cute.

He feels a little bad. The other boy really helped him today, but…Zuko still doesn’t know his name.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter didn't go the way I expected at all lol. Toph wanted to make an appearance, and Zuko decided to fall. So yeah, this fic might be a lot longer than I planned, because we are still moving at a glacial pace. Hope you enjoy!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Zuko chats with his sister, doesn't chat with Sokka's girlfriend, and then chats with Katara

Zuko has a plan.

It’s not a mean plan or a nefarious plan. So he knows Azula will already find it excruciatingly boring to listen to.

Which, of course, means, that she’s the first person he tells it to. She owes him for a lot of things, but especially, because he handled her freak out over Suki last year. This is the least she can do.

“Come on, Zuzu, I don’t have all day. What’s this big plan of yours that needed me to traipse all the way over to Uncle’s tea shop at 7 on a Monday morning?”

“I’ve told you not to call me that,” he grumbles.

She shrugs. “It’s not my fault you couldn’t come up with an equally irritating nickname for me. And Zuzu is just _so_ cute, brother.”

He’s starting to regret suggesting such an early time. Even though he’s a pretty early riser, it’s still a bit brutal having to talk to his sister of all people at this hour. Zuko almost winces. If he just had to roll out of bed and head downstairs, she must’ve left home around 6:30. Aw, she does care.

Azula starts to drum her bright red fingernails on her mug of Earl Grey tea.

“I had to make sure the guy wasn’t working a shift today. He’s usually in later, and I have class from 9-5 most days.”

“I’m not an idiot, Zuko. So just tell me what’s in your head, so I can drive you to school.”

Zuko definitely didn’t hear that right, so he’s just going to ignore it.

“He’s really cute, and um, he helped me out a bit last week? But I don’t know his name. I know he said it when he called Uncle, but I was too busy being annoyed to pay attention to it-“ he starts.

“Hold on, hold on, you’re telling me, you don’t even know your boyfriend’s name?” Azula interrupts. “Zuko, sometimes, you truly astonish me with how much of a loser you are.”

“I’m not-“ he says indignantly.

“No, never mind,” she raises a hand, “don’t bother. Just tell me how you’re going to fix it, so I can get back to laughing at your dismal attempt at a love life.”

“I would, if you’d let me get more than five words out,” he hisses.

She just looks at him.

“Fine!” he throws his hands up. “I’m just going to ask him his name like a normal person.”

Azula looks at him like he’s less than something stuck to the bottom of her ultra-expensive designer boots.

“ _That’s_ what you dragged me out of bed for? Just asking his name?”

Zuko maintains a straight face until he looks to be imminently in danger of getting Azula’s tea thrown in his lap.

“No, of course not,” he smirks. “But seeing that look on your face was definitely worth it. Anyway, I was going to ask that guy, Aang? I’ve seen him in here a few times hanging out with that guy during breaks. If I’m just asking for a name, that shouldn’t be too weird, right?”

Azula is giving him an odd look. “This boy you like. Tell me, does he have brown skin, rather tall, surprisingly muscly, and his hair is always pulled up out of his face?”

“Yes,” Zuko says suspiciously.

“And he wears fingerless gloves the moment he gets off the job?”

“…yes,” Zuko reluctantly mutters. “I’m guessing you know who he is?”

Azula seems to take a moment to make sure he’s serious, and then she starts cackling.

“Oh, this is _too good_. I love this. Poor Zuzu doesn’t know the name of his one true love! This is so tragic. Yes, I know of this boy toy of yours. And no, I’m not telling!”

“Azula!” he yells.

“Zuko!” she mocks. “Don’t worry. Ask your boy, Aang. If he won’t tell you about the boy, the girlfriend usually turns up here as well, from what I hear. So you’ll get your answers.”

Zuko’s stomach sinks. “The girlfriend? He has a girlfriend?”

“Yes, of course, Zuzu. What did I just tell you? You know how I hate repeating myself.”

“Right,” Zuko says. “Thanks, Azula.”

“You’re welcome, brother. I expect you to tell me everything. It’s so nice catching up with you.”

“You only like laughing at my pain,” he says, but he’s smiling.

“What are siblings for? Anyway, I’m off. Tell Uncle I said hello when you see him. And Zuko?”

He looks up from his tea and hums in response.

“Don’t overthink things. People could do a lot worse than dating you.”

Zuko looks at her blankly for a second.

“Oh, don’t look at me like that. I do care a little bit. Just a smidge,” she says exasperated.

“Only a microscopic amount,” he smiles.

“See, you get it. Alright, I’ve changed my mind again. Come on then, Zuzu. This wasn’t a complete waste of my time, even if your plan was remarkably underwhelming. So you’ve earned yourself a ride to school.”

He laughs, but he stands, picks up both of their backpacks, and holds the door open for his sister.

Sometimes, she’s surprisingly sweet in her own way.

oOo

The next day, Zuko has staked out his usual table. The boy is already behind the counter making drinks, but he spared a smile for Zuko when he walked in.

Zuko is anxious for the other one, Aang, to come in. And whoever this girlfriend is. He’s sort of resigned himself to just being friends with the cute boy. At least Azula was nice enough to tell him before he got his hopes crushed.

He hears the door open, followed by bright laughter and a chill.

The boy at the counter brightens up and steps out to hug a shorter boy with a buzzcut. A girl with long brown hair follows behind and gives him a crushing hug after he steps away from the shorter one.

It’s not like Zuko didn’t have some warning, but he has to admit, it kind of really, really sucks.

Sure, the cute boy was just being nice, but he thought maybe there was something there?

Apparently, he was wrong.

Zuko doesn’t really want to sit downstairs any longer. But going up to sit alone in his room seems even worse. So he just pulls out some homework and tries to plow through for the next few hours.

oOo

At one point, the boy comes back out from around the counter, tosses the apron over it, and makes his way over to Zuko.

“Hey, Zuko,” he says. “Aang and I are going to grab something from my car. Mind holding down the fort for a few minutes? I promise I won’t be gone too long.”

Zuko really wants nothing less than to be left with this boy’s girlfriend, but he nods anyway.

“Sure,” his lying mouth says without his approval. “Take your time. I’m almost done my homework, so if someone comes in while you’re gone, I can get their drink started.”

The other boy sighs in relief. “Thanks, man! I really owe you one.”

Zuko stops him there. “This is super small, but this can be starting to pay you back a bit for last time?”

“What! Zuko, my dude, you really don’t have to. I was happy to help you out, no strings attached.”

Zuko is starting to feel really awkward with how many times this boy says his name. He’s about to argue, but instead he settles on saying, “Okay, thank you.”

The guy looks at him for a second, but then he smiles and turns to wrap his arm around Aang’s shoulders. They make their way to the front of the tea shop, and then it’s just Zuko and the girlfriend.

oOo

Zuko is perfectly content to pretend that he’s the only one here and concentrate on finishing his work. But apparently, this girl didn’t get the memo.

“Hey,” she says, sidling over to his table. “You’re Zuko, right? Iroh’s nephew?”

“Yeah, what about it?” he says a bit rudely.

He already wants to apologize for the standoffishness. It’s not like she knows why he’s annoyed.

“I just wanted to say hi? I’m Katara. My brother, Sokka, just started working here, and he mentioned that you like to study here. Aang and I are usually around a lot, so I thought maybe you’d like to study with us sometime?”

Zuko really hopes his face doesn’t show his thoughts right now. He feels like a moron. Her hair is clearly the same shade as her brother’s and they have the same eyes. And now he feels bad.

“Yeah, sure, Katara. I’d like that. If you want, you could join me now?” he says.

“That would be great,” she says warmly, already pulling out a chair and dropping her backpack on it.

“Do you want anything to drink?” he blurts out once she’s gotten comfortable. “I know your brother has his shift today, but if you want anything before he gets back, I know my way around the tea shop.”

“Actually, if it’s not too much trouble,” she begins, “I’ve really been meaning to try lavender green tea, if you have it?”

Zuko’s already pushing his chair back. “Yeah, of course. I’ll bring it over in a few minutes.”

oOo

Zuko will never tell Uncle, but working in the tea shop is one of his favorite things to do. He’s been doing it for so long that it’s soothing now. Nothing else really calms him down the same way. So volunteering to make Katara tea was just an excuse. After hearing that Sokka didn’t actually have a girlfriend, Zuko spends entirely too long waxing poetic about Sokka’s smile and those ridiculous fingerless gloves. So facing the back wall for a few minutes and measuring tea leaves sounds like a better idea than giggling in front of the boy’s sister.

Also, he needs a few moments to pointedly not scream at misunderstanding Azula completely and at how thoroughly his entire plan fell apart. It doesn’t really matter now. He got Sokka’s name in the end.

After several minutes, he places Katara’s tea in front of her and goes to sit back down. He can see her pulling her wallet out, and he just waves his hand.

“Don’t worry about it. First drink is on the house.”

“It is?”

“Yeah,” he says. “Uncle’s rules. ‘If you want to come back, it should be because you loved the tea.‘”

“That’s a very…bold business statement,” she laughs.

“Uncle makes very good tea,” he says a little smugly.

“He really does,” Katara smiles. “But this isn’t my first drink here?”

Zuko grins. “You really think Sokka, too nervous to call Uncle about the weirdo sitting in the tea shop, would’ve given _anyone_ free drinks?”

Katara starts laughing again as they hear the door open, announcing the return of Sokka and Aang.

Sokka does a double take when he sees his sister sitting with Zuko, but Zuko thinks he looks a tiny bit pleased, for some reason?

He and Aang pull up more chairs and join them.

It’s a bit louder than Zuko’s used to, but hanging out with them is actually really nice.

oOo

Sokka’s not really sure what to make of this new development. He didn’t expect Katara of all people to want to get to know Zuko. But he has to admit it’s kind of heartwarming to see Zuko start to open up a bit. He’s still a little awkward, but it’s not like any of them care.

So Sokka just relaxes and steals a sip of Katara’s tea every now and then.

When they all get up to leave, he drags Aang back into a hug, waving at Zuko on the way out.

“See you later!” he yells over his shoulder.

“Bye, Sokka,” Zuko says.

And what. Zuko said his name??

Sokka handles this new piece of information with grace and walks right into the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's chapter 3. Notice how it's nowhere, and I mean, *nowhere* near the end of this fic haha. I guess I just keep getting swept up in these characters. I think the only constant I have in this is that all of the conversations and events happen in the tea shop. I really don't know how Azula just completely took over the beginning of this chapter. I know I need to edit some things in this. Anyway, hope you enjoy!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the day is full of ups and downs, Sokka draws, and there is blackberry sage tea.

The next day, Sokka’s on the morning shift again. He’s sitting on a stool behind the counter, clutching a pencil in one hand.

The other is pressing an icepack against his forehead.

Sokka looks up when he hears Zuko’s mysterious coughing fit. Not exactly subtle, but Sokka thinks anything is better than laughing as uproariously as Aang yesterday. Katara had to haul him out of the tea shop by the hood of his sweatshirt.

Anyway, Zuko’s also working today, so he slides in behind the counter and starts pulling on an apron.

“How’s the forehead?” he says, and Sokka can’t really fight down his blush.

“Um, it’s- it’s fine. Thanks,” Sokka mumbles.

Sokka feels off-kilter today. Sure, Zuko seems pretty oblivious, but it’s a little hard not to notice a guy walking into a door when you say his name.

Zuko seems to think everything is normal though. He even leans over and asks, “Are you drawing something?”

Sokka tries to stuff the sketchbook out of sight, but he’s not fast enough. There’s only a few drawings on the page, but they’re not great, and Sokka kind of wants to scream.

He watches Zuko briefly glance at the sketchbook before looking back at him.

Sokka just stares back, waiting for a snide remark.

A couple seconds go by though, so he gets impatient.

“Look, I know I’m not very good. And honestly, these look like a five-year-old drew them. But I’m just trying something new, okay?” he says defensively.

“Hey, wait, no, I didn’t say anything about them. I think they’re actually pretty good-“ Zuko starts.

“Yeah, right,” Sokka scoffs. “You’re probably trying not to laugh right now. I know what they look like.”

“I don’t think they’re bad!” Zuko says, and he sounds like he’s getting frustrated now. “Art is about expressing yourself however you want to. And I can tell you care about what you’re drawing, because those are clearly your friends. There’s nothing wrong with doing something you enjoy or trying something new.”

“Even if it looks bad? Or people hate it?” Sokka throws back.

“Who cares what they say about it? Draw more then. I’ve spent most of my life seeking other people’s approval. When it’s gone, all you’ve got left is how you feel about it.”

Sokka blinks. “That’s surprisingly deep, dude.”

“I got tired of waiting for other people to stop being disappointed in me,” Zuko shrugs.

“Wow,” Sokka says. “Yeah, okay, that makes sense.” Even though it doesn’t make sense at all. Sokka’s usually pretty good at putting pieces together. But all he’s been able to gather is that Zuko has family issues, which literally anyone could’ve guessed.

But Zuko nods, and they lapse into silence as some customers start filing in.

oOo

Iroh calls at some point. “Boys, if you wouldn’t mind closing a little early today? I’ll be having some friends over later this evening. So feel free to take off around 2. Also, I left a sample on the counter, if you would like to try it before you go.”

They both thank him, but Zuko laughs after they hang up.

“Uncle’s having some friends over, so he can destroy them at pai sho.”

“What’s pai sho?” Sokka asks.

Zuko just gives him this look of pure horror. “You don’t know what pai sho is?”

So in between customers, Zuko’s busy teaching him the rules and drawing out the board on a spare napkin.

Sokka’s not sure if he’s ever heard Zuko talk this much before. Normally, they sit in relative silence unless they both need to handle something for a customer.

It’s nice.

And therefore, it doesn’t last.

oOo

One moment, Sokka’s just focusing on wiping up some spilled tea before they close the shop.

Zuko is flipping the sign over, but Sokka hears him mutter a curse under his breath and push the door open.

Sokka can’t really hear anything from inside the tea shop, but he can see a tall man with long black hair. He can also see that Zuko’s looking more and more angry. The older man just looks smug.

He’s only seen them interacting for a minute, but Sokka is absolutely sure that asshole is Zuko’s father.

But now he’s kind of stuck. It’s obviously a private conversation. It’s not like Zuko needs rescuing, but he seems more and more distressed. At one point, he looks like he’s about to open the door to the tea shop and escape. Even Sokka jumps when his father slams the door closed with one hand.

He still can’t hear what’s being said, but the look on the older man’s face is cruel.

Yeah, Sokka’s not great at the sitting around and waiting thing.

He whirls around, one hand fumbling for the post-it Iroh left in case of emergencies and the other yanking his phone out from under his Thermodynamics homework. He pulls his apron off and walks around to the kitchen in the back. Rolling up his sleeves, he gets to work. Once he’s done, he inputs the number and calls before he can talk himself out of it.

It’s ringing and ringing and ringing and then it connects.

“…hello?” Zuko’s raspy voice sounds strained.

“I’m really sorry to interrupt, but we have an emergency, Zuko. I need you back in the tea shop as soon as possible. The fridge in the back stopped working. If we don’t get this stuff on ice soon, we’re going to be fucked.”

He can hear Zuko cursing again. “…yeah, okay, I’ll be right in.”

The older man says nastily, “Who was that, Zuko? Your-“ and then the call disconnects.

Sokka stands up and walks back out, meeting Zuko as he skids around the counter. The other boy looks like he’s been running his hands through his hair repeatedly, but Sokka doesn’t comment.

“What’s the problem exactly?” Zuko says, sounding like he really doesn’t need anything else to go wrong with his day.

Sokka feels really foolish now, but he motions Zuko to follow him into the back, because he sees that asshole still creeping around outside.

Once in the back, he plugs the fridge back in.

“Oh, look, the fridge is working again. Thanks, Zuko, I really didn’t know what was wrong,” he says deadpan.

Zuko just looks at him.

Sokka is starting to feel really bad now. “I’m so sorry! You just looked like you really wanted out of that conversation? Did I completely misread the situation? I’m so, so sorry! I swear I wasn’t eavesdropping. I honestly couldn’t hear anything you were saying. You just looked really uncomfortable? I completely messed up, didn’t I? You’ve got every right to be-“

Zuko starts laughing.

Sokka blinks.

“You’re laughing?” he points out uselessly.

Zuko just keeps laughing. He has to lean against the fridge in question to hold himself up.

“You- you just- hahaha- you fabricated this whole thing- hahaha- unplugged the fridge and everything, just to get me out of a conversation with my father, because I looked uncomfortable?” he says in between bouts of laughter.

“Yes?” Sokka says weakly. “I’m so sorry-“

Zuko finally straightens up, wiping away a few tears. “You don’t have to apologize. Really. He was trying to get me to start doing martial arts again. No hi, how are you? He only cares about how I can make him money. So yeah, thank you. I really wanted out of that. He was threatening to stop paying my college tuition. But joke’s on him, I’ve been on a full scholarship, so I haven’t had to touch his money.”

“Zuko…I’m sorry,” Sokka says, not really knowing what to say to that.

“No, it’s fine. I have a family. I’ve got Uncle and even Azula. She’s the martial arts prodigy, but she moved further away for college, so he can’t bother her as easily. I’m just the second choice.”

Sokka still doesn’t really know what to say, but Zuko seems like he’s done talking about this for now.

“Thank you for telling me,” Sokka manages to say.

“Yeah, I mean, you just helped me out of it, so thanks for that, and thanks for listening now, I guess.”

Sokka is starting to feel awkward again, so he’s not surprised when truly ridiculous words fall out of his mouth. “If I don’t do something with my hands right now, I’m going to go punch your father, if he’s still skulking about outside. So do you want some tea before we clean up?”

It startles a laugh from Zuko. “Don’t you get sick of having all this tea? You work in a tea shop.”

Sokka gasps. “There’s no such thing as too much tea!”

Zuko just chuckles. “Okay, okay. Do you want to try that sample of blackberry sage tea Uncle left us? We just have to be out in an hour or so.”

Sokka just nods enthusiastically.

oOo

They don’t have much time before they have to clean up, but the tea is delicious and not too sweet. Zuko relaxes into the chair for a second, listening to Sokka rambling about some science thing he doesn’t completely follow. But it’s nice.

It might have been ridiculous, but Sokka saw he was uncomfortable and wanted to help.

Zuko feels warm. Even he doesn’t think it’s from the tea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sokka and Zuko aren't quite friends yet, but they're also a bit more than just coworkers now. I think Sokka is getting to see more of Zuko's life than the other way around. But a lot of fics have Zuko as usually the closed off one with the backstory. I kind of wanted Sokka to just get thrown into it. Life's not really about perfect timing. Also, Sokka got lucky that calling Zuko didn't actually cause more problems. Unless you understand the situation fully, I don't recommend it. Not sure where I'm going with this yet, but hopefully, you enjoy! And thank you for reading!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Azula is not pleased, Zuko meets the girlfriend, and Sokka sees an old friend.

It’s been a few days since his father showed up.

Zuko’s almost succeeded in convincing himself he hallucinated it, but Azula bursts into the tea shop the moment he gets downstairs.

“Hey-“

“Don’t you ‘Hey, Azula’ me _, Zuzu!_ ” Azula shrieks. “When were you planning on telling me that Father showed up here? Were you just going to wait until we were both old and decrepit and say it on your death bed as one last fuck you?”

“I was going to tell you!” he mutters. “And then I didn’t.”

“I didn’t notice,” she says witheringly. “Uncle had to tell me. ‘Oh, hello, Azula, how are you this fine evening? Did you know your bitch ass trollop of a father accosted your brother a few days ago? Oh, he didn’t tell you?’ I know we’ve had our rough patches, Zuko, but I thought you would still tell me if something like this happened.”

“You always had more of a relationship with him than I did! Just because I’ve had my problems with him doesn’t mean I wanted to take that away from you,” he says.

“A relationship? What possible relationship could I have with him now?”

“I- I don’t know, but you were always close. And I wouldn’t want you to lose your father-“

“ _Don’t_ finish that sentence. Lose my father? Lose him?? I’ve already lost him! Did you think I’d just stay at home and smile and be his little puppet and let him groom me to take over his supposedly legitimate business and pretend like nothing changed? Or did you forget he tried to burn your face off for not obeying him-”

She stops.

“It’s a little bit hard to when the evidence is quite literally burned into my face,” he says acerbically.

The look on her face is _awful._

“…I’m- I’m sorry, Zuko,” Azula says quietly. “I didn’t mean that.”

“I’m sorry, too. I know that’s not what you meant.” His voice sounds shaky to his ears.

“I really am sorry,” she says miserably.

“It’s- it’s okay-” he starts.

“It’s not,” she cuts him off. “I only meant that the relationship is already over. I don’t care what he tries. Emotional blackmail, gaslighting, guilt tripping. He’s already done all that. But I’m done with him. He’ll never be part of my life again.”

“Are you sure? He’s still our father, and I’d understand-“

“You’re always so understanding!” Azula groans. “There’s nothing to be understanding about! He didn’t just fuck up once, and we can move past it. It was years and years of abuse, and I was part of it.”

Zuko tries to cut in.

“No! It’s true. You’re always so quick to defend me. ‘You were young, Azula. You didn’t know any better, Azula.’ And yes, you’re right. But I was so happy to be his favorite. I didn’t even care what it was doing to you. And even with this,” she gestures at his scar. “It wasn’t some tragic accident. _He_ did this to you. And I know you, Zuko. I know you’ve thought about it over and over and probably at some point wondered if you could’ve avoided it by _just being better_. And I can’t stand it. None of this was your fault, and I’m sick of you making it sound like you took away my chance at a happy family. Father did that years ago.”

He’s quiet for a moment.

“…thanks, Azula,” he finally gets out.

“…idiot. Don’t thank me,” she says a little wetly. “I’m rude and abrasive, but I’m the only one who gets to mess with you. And he went so, so far beyond that it’s despicable. I couldn’t even make the charges stick-”

“Are you crying?” he cuts in, mildly horrified. He really, really can’t handle her crying. His shift starts in an hour, and there’s no way he can work if he looks like he’s been bawling his eyes out all morning.

So he follows his instincts for once and pulls her into a hug.

She freezes.

“…we don’t really do the hugging thing, do we?” he says when a few moments have passed.

Azula’s still a bit frozen, but very slowly, she wraps her arms around him.

“We really don’t…but I wouldn’t be morally opposed to doing it again.”

“Oh, if you wouldn’t be _morally_ opposed to it, then-“

“Shut it, Zuzu,” she huffs, but she’s smiling a little now. She’s dried her tears on the corner of his t-shirt like a typical brat though.

“It’s because I’m warmer than you, isn’t it?” Zuko smirks knowingly, choosing to ignore the tearstains littering his shirt.

“It’s absolutely because you exist at temperatures hotter than the sun, yes.”

There’s a couple seconds of comfortable silence.

“We joke around a lot, but you know, I love you, right?” he blurts out. He’s not great with the expressing emotions thing or the timing thing. But he’s trying.

Azula pulls back in disgust, but there’s a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. “Zuzu, you had to go and ruin the banter. There’s too many _feelings_ now. I need to drown them in tea. Fetch me something suitable.”

Zuko just laughs and goes to make them tea.

He hears a quiet, “Love you, too, you dolt.”

oOo

There’s maybe fifteen minutes before Azula needs to head to class and he has to open the shop. He’s finally changed into a new shirt, and they’re still sipping their peppermint tea. It’s not like it can actually be paired with anything, but Azula called him a tea snob and insisted on something refreshing. Zuko has to admit it’s relaxing though. It’s nice to have a moment where he can kick back and relax with her.

The door swings open, and Sokka seems to seep into the tea shop like an amorphous blob. He’s leaning heavily against the door, struggling to catch his breath. Zuko glances out, looking at the newly fallen snow outside.

“Hey, Sokka. It looks like it’s really coming down out there,” Zuko says.

Sokka looks a little flushed, but Zuko thinks it’s probably just from the cold.

“Listen, it’s snowing _cats and dogs_. Or I guess that’s supposed to be about rain. But that expression makes no sense either way. Why not other animals? Why specifically cats and dogs?”

“Like foxes and hens,” Azula says immediately.

“Exactly!” Sokka exclaims. “Finally, someone else who sees sense. Also, I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Sokka-“

“I know who you are,” she says, sounding amused.

“Oh,” he says. “…is that a good thing, or a bad thing?”

“That depends,” she shrugs.

Zuko hears the door open again.

“But if I said that’s my girlfriend now, what would you think?” Azula continues.

The girl stepping into the tea shop is wrapped in a sensible winter coat. Her shoulder length hair is peaking out from where it’s trapped under a toasty-looking knitted purple scarf.

“Hey, Azula, you ready to head to class- oh…hey, Sokka,“ the new girl says, before cutting off abruptly.

Zuko feels like he really shouldn’t be here for this conversation.

Azula clears her throat. “Zuko, this is my girlfriend, Suki. And Suki, this is my older brother. Sokka, I take it you already know Suki.”

“Uh, yeah, yeah, I do. It’s good to see you again,” Sokka says.

Suki just looks at all of them for a second before seemingly making a decision.

“Right, this is awkward. Sokka, let’s talk outside. We can give Azula a second to pack up her stuff before we head to class. That alright with you, Azula?”

“Sure, see you in a few, love,” Azula replies, already standing to collect the mugs needing to be cleaned.

“Great. Nice meeting you, Zuko.” And she’s dragging Sokka outside before Zuko can say anything back.

oOo

Sokka doesn’t think he’s unflappable exactly. But he thought it took a little more to get him feeling this wrong-footed.

But nope, his ex-girlfriend showing up at work while also being the current girlfriend of the sister of his current crush is a bit too much for him right now.

Suki is pulling him back out into the snow. And aw, he really doesn’t want to be back out here. His toes just finished defrosting. But Suki’s already turning back around after shutting the door, so he tries to calm down. The snow slapping him in the face actually helps a bit.

“So hey,” Suki starts. “Look, I know this must be kind of weird for you, but I swear I didn’t know you were working today? Azula’s been telling me about the cute boy Zuko’s been ranting about, but I didn’t realize it was- oh, shit. You didn’t hear that.”

“I’m sorry, what. Did you just say Zuko’s been ranting about a cute boy?? And the cute boy is me??” Sokka whisper-yells.

“Never mind,” Suki mutters. “Anyway, I know we left things in an awkward place, especially because we pretty much only broke up because we’re at different schools, and at some point, we stopped putting in as much effort to see each other. So it’s all a big mess right now-“

“Okay, hang on. I know our breakup was kind of rushed and a bit of a mess, but I’m okay. We’re okay. Like yeah, it’s a bit awkward. But I’m happy you’re with Azula now. I know how important she is to Zuko. And from what I’ve heard about her, she sounds really cool.”

“…you’ve grown up a bit, haven’t you?” Suki eyes him for a moment. “Oh, wow, sorry. I didn’t mean-“

“No, that’s fair,” Sokka laughs a little bitterly. “I’m sorry I never reached out to you. We were really good friends first, and I know I said we’d stay friends. I think when I’d heard you’d already moved on, I was really uncomfortable, because…I hadn’t. But that shouldn’t have had any effect on how I see you or our friendship, so I’m sorry.”

“I appreciate it, but I could’ve reached out, too. I just didn’t want to make you uncomfortable. And then I actually really wanted to talk to you about Azula when we got together. I missed being able to talk to you about everything. But I knew how weird it would be for you. She’s already such a big part of my life though. So I…just didn’t try very hard. I guess it couldn’t get much more awkward than this.”

“I mean, sure, this is kind of a weird place to be having this conversation, but I’m not sure we would’ve had it any time soon otherwise.”

“I guess so?” Suki says. “I know this-“

Azula steps out, cutting Suki off.

“Oh, don’t stop on my account,” she says. “I’m going to head to your car, Suki. Pleasure to meet you, Sokka.”

This whole morning has been a whirlwind, but Sokka has enough presence of mind left to say, “It was lovely to meet you as well.”

Azula seems oddly pleased, but she just smiles mysteriously and walks off.

Sokka is bemused. Normal people should be staggering through this much snow, but Azula somehow manages to make the trek look effortless.

Suki’s also looking after her. “…yeah, I don’t get the snow thing either. As far as I can tell, no amount of precipitation is an issue for her. She just always looks put together.”

“Yeah, I was totally right. She’s insanely cool.”

Suki laughs. “She really is. And she’s about to start complaining about how I’ve left her to get frostbite if I don’t head over soon.”

“Go on,” Sokka says easily. “It was really good to see you. It’s been awhile. And um, if you’re free sometime this week, maybe I can call you and we could catch up?”

“I’d like that,” Suki smiles. “And then maybe you’ll finally stop avoiding me when the whole gang gets together?”

“Only if you stop avoiding me, too,” Sokka throws back.

“I think that can be arranged,” she says. “Later, Sokka.”

She walks away, but she pauses after a few steps. “Also, ask Zuko out already. You’re both so painfully obvious.”

“What??” Sokka shouts.

“Bye, Sokka!” she says brightly, running off laughing.

“Suki!” he shouts, but she just waves.

Sokka watches her walk off for a few minutes, before blowing out a breath.

He’s just going to ignore that. He’s got other things to worry about now. Like figuring out how to explain this to Zuko.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Azula wasn't even supposed to be in this chapter originally. Oh, well. Also, I've been thinking about the basic outline of this chapter since Toph mentioned that Sokka wouldn't tell Suki about his crush lol. This chapter might have a lot of mistakes. It's been a long day, but I really wanted to get these interactions written before I forgot where I wanted to take this. At some point, I'll go back and edit more. I tried really, really hard to keep the characters in character for how I'm portraying them in this fic. Not sure if I succeeded, but hope you enjoy! Also, thank you to everyone reading and anyone leaving kudos and comments and bookmarking this fic! This isn't just the first fic I've posted on here. It's also the first one I've shared with anyone else, so I really appreciate all the support :)


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which there is Aang, salmon, and tea, not necessarily in that order.

Sokka runs away.

Not really, but it amounts to the same thing.

It’s not like he’s upset or anything. Sokka’s just feeling weird and introspective. He hasn’t seen Suki in a bit. It’s hard to not to think about how she’s now doing well and is clearly happy with Azula. And he’s just spending all his time making tea or angsting about Zuko. Kind of really puts things into perspective. And her little thing about asking out Zuko- he really wishes he could. He doesn’t really want to think about this stuff now.

Zuko must see the look on his face, because he doesn’t ask.

They finish their shift with a smattering of small talk and mostly silence.

Sokka murmurs a goodbye and leaves.

oOo

It’s roughly two days later, and Sokka feels bad for kind of avoiding Zuko. He usually spends a lot of time in the tea shop, even when he’s not currently working a shift. But the day before, he hadn’t even shown up. So today, he walks in obscenely early, because Zuko doesn’t deserve to be avoided just because he feels uncomfortable.

“Hey.”

“Hey,” Zuko replies, looking up from the tea he’s making. “Want some?”

“Uh, yeah, that would be great,” Sokka says, not even caring what kind. He just wants something to stop him from drumming his fingers on the counter.

Zuko nods and pulls out another mug. There’s silence for a bit, but unlike normal, it’s not particularly comfortable.

“You can come over here behind the counter if you want. We’ve got awhile before anyone shows up today,” he says.

“Yeah…okay,” Sokka says and he leans against the counter out of Zuko’s way.

Eventually, he musters the courage to start talking.

“Um…sorry, that whole thing a couple days ago must’ve been really awkward for you,” Sokka says.

Zuko shrugs in response. “I mean, I was just there, and it sounded like if it was weird for anyone, it was probably mostly for you and Suki.”

“Yeah, you could say that,” Sokka mutters.

“I’m guessing you and Suki dated at some point,” Zuko says, calmly pushing Sokka’s mug over to him.

“You are…definitely not beating around the bush,” Sokka laughs slightly.

“Sorry,” Zuko smiles halfheartedly. “You don’t have to tell me, but it sounds like that was the kind of weird you might want to talk about with someone who isn’t…as close to the situation.”

“I mean, I guess define close? She’s dating your sister after all.”

“True, but I just met Suki a couple days ago. So of the two of you, I know you a little better.”

“Yeah, but Zuko, you barely know me at all.” Sokka doesn’t really mean anything by it, so he feels bad when he sees Zuko’s face close off a bit.

“No, no,” he hurries to add. “It’s not that I don’t want you to know me or that you know nothing about me. It’s just…”

“…I’ve only really talked to you for a maybe a month? And half of that was you thinking of creative ways to kick me out of my own place?” Zuko smirks.

Sokka laughs, “Yeah, there’s, uh, there’s that, too.”

He takes a sip of his tea, wrapping his fingers around the mug to chase the fleeting warmth. English breakfast. Not bad.

“Thanks for the tea,” he says a couple seconds later.

Zuko eyes him knowingly, but Sokka bites back a sigh of relief when he plays along with the obvious stalling. “No problem. You know Uncle has a separate stash for when my friends are here, right? You don’t have to keep sneaking money into the cash register when you think I’m not looking.”

“I don’t- okay, yeah, I totally do. But you did at first, too!” Sokka exclaims. “I was just following your lead! And also, it seems rude for me to drink his tea without paying for it. It must take a lot of money to pay the rent for this place and so on.”

“Uh, actually,” Zuko coughs. “He owns the block.”

Sokka chokes on a mouthful of tea at that. “I’m sorry. He _what_?”

Zuko chuckles a little. “Yeah, he made a lot of money when he was working for Grandfather’s company. And he used it to fund the tea shop. He personally created all the blends of tea we sell. He’s been investing since then, so this is actually just a side gig for him. The tea shop is basically open as long as there are people who want it. And you’ve seen the crowds that show up during some of our shifts. This place still makes a lot of money. He just donates most of what he doesn’t need to pay the bills to charity these days. Money’s not really a problem for us.”

“Wow,” Sokka says. “That’s awesome. Good for Iroh and you.”

“We’re very lucky. Uncle’s been perfecting this business for almost twenty years now. I don’t know half of what he does in the day, but I know he’s happier than when he worked with my father.”

“Speaking of that asshole, your father hasn’t shown up again since a few days ago, right?” Sokka says worriedly.

“No, he hasn’t,” Zuko replies. “I’m pretty sure you’d hear Azula storming in here then.”

“Is that why she came over yesterday?” Sokka asks tentatively.

“Yeah…pretty much. I’m guessing she asked Suki to drive around for a bit after dropping her off. She makes people anxious when she drives that angry.” 

“I could maybe see how someone would find her intimidating,” Sokka says, thinking of flawless makeup, a swirl of dark hair, and heels. “She looks like she can kick the shit out of you, but won’t because her shoes don’t deserve it.”

That pulls a laugh out of Zuko. “That’s the best description of her I’ve heard in a while. I’ll have to tell her sometime. She’ll be so flattered.”

“I guess I can totally see why Suki’s happy with her,” Sokka continues. “She needed someone more confident than me. We were at different schools, and we’d been friends for a while already. It seemed natural to start dating. But we drifted apart and eventually just broke up.”

He’s interrupted by his ringtone.

“Oh, shit,” he says, glancing at it. “Do you mind if I take this? It’s Aang, and he’s been kind of worried, since he heard Suki showed up.”

“Yeah, yeah, go ahead,” Zuko says. “Take as much time as you need. There’s some stuff I have to organize in the back room before we open today anyway. Just shout if you need me.”

Zuko rests his hand on Sokka’s arm for a moment and then leaves.

Sokka takes a deep breath and hits accept.

“Hey, Aang.”

“Sokka,” the normally cheerful boy sounds subdued. “I heard you ran into Suki and Azula. How are you doing?”

“Oh, you know, I’m totally fine-“ he starts.

Aang just talks over him. “No, Sokka, look. I don’t need any of that. I know how weird things were between you and Suki. You don’t have to pretend to be completely okay with me.”

“…thanks, Aang.”

“Okay,” Aang exhales. “I have class in like 5 minutes, so I can’t talk for long now anyway. But I just wanted to ask if we can talk later? I just don’t want you to sit on this and mentally dig yourself into a hole about this. Also, we haven’t talked in a while. And you’re my best bro, so yeah, I miss you, buddy.”

“Awww, Aang! Love you, too, man,” Sokka grins. “But sure, I’ll call you later tonight?”

“Awesome sauce! We can catch up then.”

“Yeah, and thank for calling, Aang. I really appreciate it.”

“Of course. What’re bros for? I really have to head to class now, but I’ll talk to you later!” Aang says.

“Bye, Aang,” he says, hanging up and putting his phone down on the counter.

Aang’s a good friend.

He takes a deep breath. He should probably stop exiling Zuko.

“Hey, Zuko, you can come back out here,” he shouts.

A beat later, Zuko walks in and just picks up his tea like nothing happened. “Hope everything’s all good with Aang.”

“Yeah,” Sokka says. “Yeah, all good. He just wants to catch up and talk about all of this stuff later. He knows how I get sometimes. Sorry for taking the call here.”

Zuko nods.

“That’s good. And don’t even worry about it. We’re all good to go for our shift now, too. So it all worked out. And look, I get if you don’t want to keep talking about this. The moment’s kind of gone. But you sounded like you really wanted to keep going. So…I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’m listening if you had more to say.”

Sokka just stares at Zuko for a moment. This boy doesn’t even know him that well, but he’s still trying. He’s always trying. So Sokka makes a decision.

“Actually, yeah,” he replies. “I’ve got some more stuff to say. Just…just give me a second. I haven’t really talked about this stuff to anyone other than Aang and maybe my other friend, Toph.”

Zuko just nods. “No rush.”

Sokka takes another sip of his tea. He’s looking down at his hands instead of at Zuko, but he can feel the other boy looking at him. “Breaking up with Suki wasn’t some dramatic thing. It just fizzled out or something. Like we spent so long trying to convince ourselves to be in this relationship, and we just slid right back into friendship when we weren’t looking. So it was just done. And I guess we both just felt too awkward to pick our friendship back up. She started dating Azula and didn’t want to make me feel bad. And me…yeah, I felt awkward. We’d both moved on, but she’d moved on and found someone else. And I was just…there. Still single, still not confident. Just trying to make things work. Sometimes, I still feel like that. It’s been a while, and I swear I’m over it…”

“…but sometimes feelings fucking suck and they come back and punch you in the nose?” Zuko nods sagely.

Sokka cracks up. “Yeah, yeah, exactly. I’m even really happy they’re together and doing so well. But it’s so easy to compare myself to her and go, ‘who’d even want me with all my issues?’”

“What! What do you mean who’d want you? I would! Who the fuck wouldn’t want you?” Zuko says angrily.

Sokka just sits there.

“I’m sorry, what?” he finally says.

Zuko’s doing an impressive impression of a beetroot.

“Uh, that’s not what I meant. I mean, yeah, I’d totally date you, because have you met you? You’re smart and confident and you tried to attack me with a spoon and you let me ramble to you about pai sho. But I know you wouldn’t be into me like that, because-“

Sokka cuts him off.

“Nope, I’m pretty sure I’m into you exactly like that.”

It’s Zuko’s turn to look shocked.

“Why do you look so surprised?” Sokka laughs. “You’re always so committed to being yourself. And yeah, maybe there were bigger moments where I was able to help you and see more into your life, but you didn’t laugh at my art. You spent time with my sister and her boyfriend, and you’re a lot more self-assured than you think. I have it on good authority that someone definitely finds that pretty attractive.”

Zuko seems to have recovered somewhat, because he shoots back with, “Yeah? Does this someone happen to always be around to deal with my family issues? Are they willing to fake an emergency just because I look uncomfortable? Because that’s, uh, that’s kind of hot.”

“Is it?” Sokka asks.

Zuko is blushing again, but he keeps going. “Yeah, being reliable and actually having my back? That’s pretty fucking hot.”

Sokka feels surprisingly calm and content. Sure, there are some butterflies, but it’s nothing like the anxiety he had when he finally told Suki.

“You know, I think I really like you,” he says.

Zuko kind of bites his lip, and _holy shit,_ how is he so adorable?

“Okay, stop doing that, because you’re becoming really bad for my blood pressure,” Sokka says.

“Doing what?” Zuko says indignantly. “I’m just sitting here! You’re way worse! Just sitting there all- all _Sokka_ -“

“Did you just tell me I’m sitting there all Sokka? Because yeah, I’m 110% all-natural Sokka. Free range, grass fed, moderate hormones,” Sokka cackles. “Wait, oh, no! I totally missed an opportunity to compare myself to sockeye salmon! Get it, like Sokka salmon-“

“Ugh, yes, you know what! Yes! Yes, I did say you’re all Sokka. Because see, you’re funny and you just go along with it when I’m being weird and you wear those stupid fingerless gloves.”

“Oh, _these_ stupid fingerless gloves?” Sokka wiggles his fingers. “I’ve seen you watching my hands, buddy. You like them.”

“Oh, yeah? Well, you wouldn’t stop staring at my arms that first day!”

“Yeah, but they are truly fantastic arms, my dude. I’m only admiring what anyone would. But you, every time I smile at you, you look a bit dazed.”

“At least I didn’t run into a door because you said my name,” Zuko says smugly.

“Ugh, I thought we silently agreed to never bring that up!” Sokka throws his hands up, but he’s smiling.

“No- maybe you did, but I said nothing at all about-,” Zuko smirks.

“Yeah, the smirking? You totally need to keep doing that. Who gave you permission to be this hot, dude. Seriously, can I just kiss you now?” Sokka interrupts.

“I mean, sure. But can you? I don’t know, buddy. You tell me. Can you?” Zuko says snidely. “Don’t you mean may you-“

Sokka kisses him.

Zuko finally shuts up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I'm so sorry for how cheesy this is. This really wasn't supposed to happen right now XD But I kind of just went with it. They seemed like the type that would just descend into compliment battles, so yeah, hope you enjoy!


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which there is lots of talking, less action, and some decisions.

The awkward part about kissing someone in real life, Zuko remembers, is that unlike in movies and shows and stories, it doesn’t all just fade to black once you stop kissing.

So when Zuko pulls away from Sokka slowly, he’s worrying that maybe Sokka didn’t actually want to kiss him? Maybe he just got swept up in the moment? He was just talking about how awkward things were with Suki? Maybe he just didn’t want to feel alone?? And now he only thinks he likes Zuko??

“Hey,” Sokka starts from way too close for Zuko to really process. “I can see you freaking out over there. I think we’ve already established that I like you and I’m pretty sure you like me. Maybe we can just leave it at that for today. Go freak out to our friends like normal people, and then talk tomorrow?”

“Uh…sounds good?” Zuko manages. Sokka’s just a bit too close and a little too far away, and it’s messing with him.

“Hey,” Sokka says again. “This wasn’t a mistake. Not on my end. I really do like you.”

This is the part where Zuko starts blushing furiously once again.

“I like you, too.”

And then Zuko is moderately ashamed to admit he totally runs upstairs.

oOo

“Hey, Aang, you might want to get Katara on the phone.”

“What do you mean get Katara? I’m already here. You think Aang remembers to pick up the phone when you call? He’s too busy dancing around like a monkey when he sees your name on his phone. Now what’s up?”

“And this is why he’s my favorite. You might want to get Aang though…I kissed Zuko.”

“Hold the fucking phone- Aang??!! It’s happening!”

“No, no, but then he kind of ran away?”

“…are you that bad at kissing??”

“What, no! Ugh, Katara, put Aang on. At least he doesn’t question my kissing abilities.”

oOo

“Zuzu, what kind of time do you call this? This had better be-“

“Sokka kissed me.”

 _“What?!_ Tell me _everything._ ”

“I ran away after.”

_“You what?!”_

oOo

Zuko has another shift the next day, so he’s not surprised when Sokka corners him in the back room during a lull in customers.

“Look, I’m sorry,” Sokka blurts out, wringing his hands. “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. It’s totally cool if you don’t want this to go anywhere. I’m totally fine with being friends-“

“I definitely don’t want to be friends,” Zuko says and instantly regrets.

Sokka’s face falls. “Oh.”

“Wait, wait, no, that’s not what I meant,” he tries.

Sokka just looks even more confused, so Zuko knows he has to say something else to fix this.

“I like you. A lot. It’s just really hard sometimes to shut up the part of my brain that wonders _why_ you’re into me and then it just becomes a whole mess and-“

“Zuko,” Sokka says. “Breathe.”

Zuko sucks in a deep breath.

“If you want to do this. We can go at whatever pace you want- like we can take it really, really slow-“

“I don’t _want_ to go really slow,” Zuko groans and runs his hands through his hair in frustration. “I’m sorry, I’m so bad at explaining-”

“Hold up, nope, none of that disparaging shit from either of us. I get being nervous or scared, but if either of us have a concern, we speak up about it, okay? Like I know you’d listen to me if I was uncomfortable or whatever. So I want the same for you. No judgment, just walk me through how you’re feeling the best you can and we’ll go from there.”

Zuko just stares at him for a second before swallowing. “You really mean that? You wouldn’t mind if every time you kiss me, I get really anxious and have to go sit in the bathroom and remind myself you like me? Even though you said me being confident was hot?”

“Yo, you are smoking hot, because you’re you. That’s anxiety independent. So if every time I kiss you, I have to give you space or sit with you in the bathroom until you feel like you can think again, I’m all there. And you can be confident and still have anxiety, man. Those aren’t mutually exclusive.”

Zuko must look exceptionally blank, because Sokka just nods.

“It’s true. You can still be completely confident about who you are and what you deserve and still have your brain go ‘who the hell would want me.’ I deal with it all the time. Like buddy, our whole conversation yesterday was about how even though I’m happy for Suki, I still don’t know what to do with myself some days. It’s okay to not have everything completely together.”

Zuko only nods, but he does reach out and take Sokka’s hand.

“Okay, how about this?” Sokka says. “We go normal slow. Natural progression, whatever feels right for us. Half of that is just us joking around as usual. And if you aren’t into something or want me to just back off for a second, you let me know?”

“…yeah. Yeah, I’d like that,” Zuko says, smiling a bit. “But it goes both ways. If you’re not cool with something, you tell me. And just- just give me some time to get used to things? Like I’m sometimes fine with stuff…“

“But anxiety is a pain in the ass, and sometimes you question stuff, and sometimes you’re totally fine. That’s okay. I don’t want to date confident Zuko without anxious Zuko. And I’m happy to remind you that I do in fact like you and I do actually want to date you.”

“So…I guess- I guess we’re doing this? We’re dating then?”

“Looks like it,” Sokka smiles widely.

Zuko can feel some butterflies doing somersaults in his stomach, but he ignores them and squeezes Sokka’s hand.

Eventually, he has to return to work, but he gets a warm hug from Sokka before he goes.

oOo

Sokka is already sitting behind the counter today.

“Hey,” Zuko waves. It’s still ridiculously early and they haven’t even opened yet, so he’s still in an old shirt and sweats.

“Hey,” Sokka says. “Come here.”

“Who, me?”

“Do you see anyone else here, Zuko?” Sokka laughs. “Get over here.”

Zuko slinks over. “For…what?”

“You said you liked the fingerless gloves, so…give me your hand.”

Zuko raises an eyebrow. “I seem to recall I called them ‘stupid fingerless gloves.’”

“Yeah, but like I said, I’ve seen you looking. And you also have nice hands, and I want to hold one. So gimme,” Sokka makes grabby motions with his hands.

“I didn’t know my hands were that irresistible,” Zuko says, but he reaches over and tangles his fingers with Sokka’s warmer ones.

“You were waving your hand all up in my face, so now I get to hold it. That’s just how it works,” Sokka replies.

“I was waving at you from the bottom of the stairs!”

“They were in my line of vision. That’s close enough.”

“How…how are you saying all this with a straight face?” Zuko mutters.

“I like you a lot, Zuko. It’s not that weird that I want to hold your hand,” Sokka says wryly. “Also, you blush every time I mention your hands, so that’s a nice bonus.”

“Well, fuck you then. Just for that, I’m not making you any tea today,” Zuko huffs, but he’s smiling a little.

Sokka just laughs and slides a mug of lemon honey tea in front of him. “Kinda already beat you there, buddy.”

“Ugh, you’re the worst.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. Also, goodnight by the way,” Sokka says. “Can I get a goodnight kiss?”

“Sokka, it’s like 6:30am.”

“I know, but I didn’t see you last night! And I missed you!”

“You saw me like 10 hours ago,” he says.

“And I’ve already got a serious case of withdrawal!” Sokka insists, leaning in closer.

Zuko pushes his face away with a laugh. “Are you dying?”

“Yes! It’s a serious condition, Zuko! How am I supposed to last 10 hours without kissing you?! I’ve finally felt those plush lips against my own! Felt that trim waist under my fingers!”

“You’ve felt no trim waist under your fingers!” Zuko laughs. “And stop talking like those fucking romance novels!”

“Oh ho ho, why do you know what those romance novels sound like, Zuko? And what should I say instead? ‘I feel like I’ll die if I don’t get to have those biceps curled around me again?’”

“Just- hahaha- Sokka, just stop,” Zuko wheezes with laughter.

“Not a day goes by when I’m not daydreaming about those arms. They’re just straight up otherworldly. Why are you laughing? I’m serious!”

“I thought you were Sokka?” Zuko manages to say around his laughter.

“Holy shit, did you make a Harry Potter joke??”

“No.”

“You did!! Wow, I didn’t realize I could like you more. It’s only been a few days, Zuko! How am I going to survive longer if you keep being this cool??”

Sokka pauses and looks down. “Oh, holy shit, Zuko. My dude, these sweats? This shirt? You look all sleep-soft and cute!”

“I’m not cute!” Zuko protests.

“You’re absolutely cute, buddy. But seriously, it’s so nice to see you look so comfortable at home.”

“I mean, these are just the clothes I wore to sleep, Sokka.”

“I know! But you look so comfy! Will you wear them again for me sometime, nope, nope. I take that back, I didn’t mean that at all. Oh, please, please, someone shut me up.”

“At some point, I’m sure you’ll see me in pjs again,” Zuko sighs and then leans over to kiss Sokka, shutting down his rambling.

Sokka doesn’t really mind. He just turns his head a bit more into the kiss and reaches up to finally, finally, get his hands in that hair.

oOo

The rest of the shift passes with some quick stolen kisses.

Zuko’s about to head upstairs for the day when Sokka stops him.

“Hey, I know we just talked about this yesterday, but everything okay? You were kind of quiet the rest of today. Were we going too fast?”

“No…I think it still just doesn’t feel real? It feels like an hour ago I was still ranting to Azula about how I like your smile and how much I want to make you laugh- oh, wow, I can’t believe I just said that to you.”

Sokka steps a little closer to him, reaching out a hand.

Zuko takes it slowly.

“You know,” Sokka says, blushing a bit. “I think I spent a lot of today trying to convince myself this is real. That you actually like me back. My version is just holding your hand or kissing you, because while I have a good imagination, you’re kind of a lot cooler than anything I could think up. So maybe you could try that, too?”

“You…want me to kiss you or something every time I start worrying about us?”

“Yeah,” Sokka laughs.

“What if that’s an obnoxious amount of the time?” Zuko challenges.

“I mean, I can’t really think of a better way to spend the day honestly.”

“Why does everything sound like a line coming from you?”

“Because I’m desperate and want to kiss you 90% of the time, so this is a pretty good reason to actually do it.”

“That’s pretty fair actually,” Zuko says, thinking about how much he wants to kiss Sokka again.

“You know, it looks like there’s someone you’re kind of thinking about kissing, and I just wanted to let you know, if it would persuade you to do it, that the person would very enthusiastically kiss you back.”

That’s honestly all the incentive Zuko needs to put an arm around Sokka’s waist and drag him closer.

“Is this what you had in mind?” Zuko smirks.

“Yeah, just about,” Sokka says, wrapping his arms around Zuko’s neck. “Just with a lot less talking.”

oOo

A week later, they’re slowly starting to find a rhythm to this new relationship. It hasn’t been very long, but Sokka is already feeling kind of guilty.

“Hey, I know this is a little odd, because it’s barely been a week, but I think my friend, Toph, would really like to meet you. Feel free to say no, because I know this is kind of soon. But I haven’t talked to her all that much since I kept trying to kick you out of here.”

“I’d like to meet Toph,” Zuko says. “She sounds way cooler than you.”

“I feel like I should probably be offended, but you’re totally right.”

“Of course. But yeah, she can swing by the shop at some point if she wants to? We could all hang out then?”

“Yeah, that sounds great. And at some point, if it’s okay with you, I’d like to get to know Azula better?”

“…you- you want to spend time with my sister?” Zuko asks.

“Yeah, of course? Unless that’s a little too weird for you.”

“I mean, I guess I’m just surprised? The last person I dated really didn’t want to meet anyone in my family. At all.”

“Uh…okay, forget the timeline or whatever. If there’s someone important to you that wants to get to know me, just let me know and we’ll make it work,” Sokka says. “Also, I’m sorry you dated someone who made you feel like you couldn’t introduce them to your family.

“It’s not…weird to want you to get along with Azula?”

“Um…no? Why would it be?”

“I don’t know- he said he wasn’t in a relationship with Azula, so why would he have to meet her?”

“Who is this asshat?” Sokka snarls. “Alright, yeah, new plan. We’re inviting Toph and Azula, fuck whatever people think, and we’re all going to get along.”

“I mean, okay, if you’re sure.”

“Yeah, I am _very_ fucking sure. We’re doing this now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading and thank you to those who chose to leave kudos and comments or bookmark this fic. I'm not really happy with this chapter. It feels like filler until the next chapter, but I did want to give them a chance to talk things out. So unfortunately, it's 90% talking and nothing else. I'm hoping the next chapter flows a bit better. Hope you still enjoy though!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which there's thievery, unexpected acquaintances, and ice, not in that order.

“Lover boy,” Toph says in greeting when she picks up the phone.

“Hey, Toph. I know it’s been a little while. I just- just wanted to tell you…I’m kind of dating Zuko now?”

“Oh, I know,” Toph laughs. “I was just waiting for you to tell me.”

“You know already?? How? Ugh, never mind, it was probably Aang,” Sokka says.

“Got it in one,” Toph says, and Sokka can practically see her smirk.

“Well, it’s not like I was trying to keep it a secret. Actually, I wanted to ask if- if you’d like to meet him?”

“Sure,” Toph agrees. “I’m guessing at the tea shop?”

“Yeah, if that’s okay with you?”

“Sure thing. I’ll even promise to be mostly nice.”

“ _Mostly_ nice? Go easy on him, Toph. He’s probably already nervous about this.”

“Don’t worry,” Toph says, and it’s pretty obvious that she’s grinning. “It’ll be fine.”

oOo

Despite agreeing readily, Zuko is indeed nervous. He knows that Sokka’s friends mean a lot to him. And he hasn’t actually heard that much about Toph.

Also, Toph said she’d come by the tea shop around 8am before her class.

And yet, Sokka is running late, leaving Zuko to sit here sweating buckets, because he’s reasonably sure that the girl walking up to the door now is Toph.

Her hand follows the frame of the door for a second before her fingers land on the door handle. Once she steps inside, Zuko’s extra nervous.

As Toph moves steadily towards the counter, Zuko remembers he works at the tea shop and this might not actually be Sokka’s friend. So he says, “Welcome to The Jasmine Dragon.“

Toph looks over the moment he begins to speak and starts moving unerringly in his direction.

“You must be lover boy’s love interest,” she grins.

Zuko wants to protest, because clearly Sokka is _his_ love interest, thank you very much.

But all that comes out is a squeaked, “How could you tell?”

Toph throws her head back and laughs as she finds a stool at the counter.

“I might not know exactly what you look like, but Sokka’s told me all about that voice.”

“What about it?” Zuko laughs uncomfortably.

“Something about really loving how raspy it is.”

“It’s not that raspy,” he mutters.

“You seem nervous,” Toph says, abruptly switching topics.

“What gave you that idea?” Zuko chuckles not at all nervously. 

“The apron maybe? I can hear you fiddling with it,” Toph grins again.

Zuko immediately drops the apron ties he’d been playing with.

“Relax, my dude, I’m not going to bite your head off. I could threaten you with bodily harm, because hey, that’s fun, and I think most people could use a healthy dose of fear. But you seem to actually make him happy.”

“Isn’t it a little too soon to tell? It’s maybe been a week or so,” Zuko says.

Toph shrugs. “I’ve known Sokka in and out of relationships. I’ve got a good feeling about you guys.”

“Thanks, I guess?”

“Yep. Now, where the hell is Sokka?”

“I don’t actually know? I thought he’d be here by now.”

“…so has he texted you or something?”

“……”

“What’s the silence for, Zuko?”

“…Idon’thavehisnumber,”

“Did you just say you don’t have his number?!”

“…no?” Zuko tries.

“Ugh, some help you are. Here, take my phone and call him.”

Zuko reaches over and takes her phone, scrolling until he finds Sokka and hits call.

“Toph!” Sokka picks up right away. “I’m so sorry. I swear I was on the way, but uh…I may have slipped on the ice.”

“Sokka, it’s Zuko. Where are you?”

“Oh, hey there, buddy. I’m totally fine. I’ll be there in like five minutes.”

Toph’s listening from the other side of the counter. She starts shaking her head, whispering furiously, “Nope, he’s not. He’s definitely sprained his ankle or something, and he’s totally sitting in the snow like a block away.”

“Yeah, okay, just sit tight for a second,” Zuko says to Sokka, ignoring the other boy’s spluttering.

And to Toph, he says “I got it. Can you man the shop for a bit while I go get him? I doubt anyone will be in, but just in case?”

“Yeah, yeah, no problem. ‘Welcome to The Jasmine Dragon,’ right? Go get the idiot.”

So Zuko mutters a thank you and grabs his coat, rushing out the door.

oOo

Sokka is pretty sure he’s never going to live this down. Ever.

He’s back in the tea shop, safely ensconced in a comfy chair. Toph’s busy cackling away and is absolutely no help.

His foot is resting in Zuko’s lap, and he hisses as Zuko’s fingers poke his sore ankle.

“Of all the stupid things, I had to fall like five blocks away from the tea shop,” he says, covering his eyes with his arm.

“Sure,” Zuko responds agreeably. “Five blocks is absolutely the same as right outside the door.”

Toph howls louder.

And then, to make matters worse, someone else bursts through the door.

“What exactly is going on in here?”

“Azula?” Sokka hears Zuko say, “What’re you doing here?”

“You rudely hung up on me a few days ago! I’ve been busy with class, but did you honestly think you could tell me you _finally_ kissed Sokka-“

“Oi, _I_ kissed him, thank you very-“

“-and expect me to not come here and bother you about it?” Azula finishes smoothly. “Also, Sokka, what on earth happened to your ankle? It’s turning an interesting shade of purple.”

Toph, the traitor, stops laughing long enough to pipe up. “Oh, you see, Twinkle Toes (the second) over there slipped on ice apparently and fell. Zuko came to his rescue and carried him back like a damsel in distress. Quite heroic.”

“There was no damsel or distress!” Sokka insists hotly, pulling his arm away from his face. “I walked here on my own two feet, and Zuko graciously escorted me.”

“Is that what we’re calling it now?” Zuko says dryly.

“Fine, you carried basically all of my weight, but I’ll maintain that I had one foot on the ground the whole time.”

“Yeah, I definitely carried him in here,” Zuko nods at Azula.

Azula is starting to look extremely amused.

“Apparently, I’ve come at a bad time,” she starts.

“Oh, no, this is a brilliant time. You must be this one’s sister. And I need all the details, so I can appropriately threaten him if need be.”

“I’m assuming you’re Sokka’s friend?”

“You bet. I’m Toph. Lover boy’s my sidekick.”

“-sidekick?!” Sokka protests.

“Lover boy?” Azula’s eyes gleam suspiciously. “I think I should stick around a bit more. I’ve got some stories about Zuko you might enjoy, Toph. Would you like some tea?”

“Who’s making this tea?” Zuko asks. “You burn water.”

“Now, Zuko. You are, of course. Toph is our guest, Sokka is…indisposed, and my hands are far too delicate for such manly work.”

“More like the tea is too delicate for your hands,” Zuko mutters.

“What was that, _Zuzu_?” Azula asks sweetly.

“Zuzu?!” Toph crows.

“Toph, you can keep me company, while those two make us tea.”

“Excellent.”

Zuko just sighs and drags Sokka over to the other end of the room.

oOo

“How about no?? How about we don’t run away? They’re going to tell each other all our secrets!” Sokka whispers, waving his arms.

“Look,” Zuko says, grabbing Sokka’s hands. “I need to get you some ice for your ankle, and then you’re going to explain to me why you thought walking on it was a better idea than just getting someone to help you.”

Sokka starts to protest, but Zuko cuts him off.

“Nope, that’s totally what happened. And you were barely a few blocks down. How long were you there?”

“…20 minutes,” Sokka says sullenly.

“Twenty minutes?? It’s freezing outside, Sokka. What the hell?”

“I didn’t want to bother you! I knew you were already worried about meeting Toph, and I just didn’t want to add something else. I also really did think I could make it here.”

Zuko runs his hand through his hair in frustration.

“I get that you didn’t want to stress me out, but Sokka, I still want to help you. And your ankle really doesn’t look great. I’ve had enough injuries that I can wrap it for you, but you should go to a doctor as soon as possible. You’re probably not going to be able to put weight on it for a little while.”

Sokka slumps. “I know. I’m sorry.”

“Just…if you need something, just ask me next time,” Zuko sighs, and Sokka feels guilty for worrying him.

“Hey,” he nudges Zuko. “I’m sorry I made you worry.”

“You did. Make me worry that is. But I’m glad you’re mostly okay. Let’s just take care of your ankle now, buddy.”

Zuko stands up, and Sokka assumes he’s going to get some ice. Sokka grabs his hand.

“Can I get a hug before you go?” he says.

“Idiot. I’m not even leaving your line of sight,” Zuko chuckles, but he still wraps his arm around Sokka.

oOo

Eventually, Toph and Azula head out with Azula insisting on driving Toph home.

Zuko is too scared by the idea of them being friends to do more than mumble a goodbye after them.

Sokka’s got his foot propped up on a cushion Zuko found somewhere, icing away.

Zuko pokes him. “You good?”

Sokka sighs, scrunching up the fabric of his jeans and smoothing it out again.

“It’s fine. I know the drill. Ten minutes on, ten minutes off. Don’t just leave it wrapped against the skin-“

“I wasn’t asking about your ankle, buddy.”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Sokka mutters. “I just feel really stupid.”

“I didn’t mean to get on your case that much earlier. I hope you know that you can also rely on me for stuff. It’s not on you to deal with my problems and yours and both of ours.”

“Yeah, I know,” Sokka says. “It’s just sometimes everyone expects me to have all my shit together, and I really do try. And then something like this happens, and it’s so far outside my control, I forget that it’s okay to ask for help. I probably would’ve tried crawling all the way here from where you found me.”

“What do you mean ‘tried?’” Zuko laughs. “I _found_ you trying to crawl your way here. It was very dramatic, but not very successful. You were trying really hard though. And look, I get needing to have everything together. I’m the older brother, right? So my father always expected me to follow in his footsteps and all that shit. And then I tried so hard to be perfect, because if I wasn’t competing with Azula to be his favorite, what else did I even have?”

Sokka swallows. “Yeah…I kind of get what you mean about the trying to be perfect thing. My dad’s great, but my mom died when Katara and I were really young. I guess I tried to step up, because Dad’s away for work most of the time. But you know, I was just a kid, trying to raise Katara. Dad’s work moved back here in high school, so we’ve been trying to…reconnect for a while, I guess? Katara moved in with Aang pretty recently though. I have my own place, but I’m at home a lot, because I feel bad not even trying with him. It’s not like he’s a bad guy. And I get that he really didn’t have a choice about his job. It just sucks. So now, it’s hard to be around him without feeling like I need to pretend to be an adult? Like I have to prove to him that I can take care of myself, because I’ve already done it for so long.”

“I think,” Zuko says, “that you’ve got a lot on your plate, and I’m really happy you told me. I think sometimes the hardest thing to do is to try to change a relationship from the way it was. And I’m proud of you for trying. If you ever want to talk about it more, I’m always happy to listen.”

Sokka smiles, and if it’s a little watery, Zuko thankfully doesn’t say anything. “Thanks, Zuko. That means a lot.”

“Yeah, of course,” Zuko says, bumping their shoulders together. “If there’s one thing I know, it’s family issues.”

oOo

It’s a bit later, and Zuko’s insisted on driving Sokka home, so they’ve finally collected all their stuff and they’re about to lock up for the day.

Zuko turns to Sokka. “One more thing.”

“Yeah?”

“Can I have your number? It’d be a little awkward if I have to borrow Toph’s phone every time I want to get in contact with you.”

“Dude, what the hell! How do you not have my number?”

“Why do you have my number?!”

“Remember? That time I came to your rescue? I was super dashing? I got your number off Iroh’s post-it for emergencies.”

“Well, when was I supposed to get your number then, you- you number thief!”

“Why do you always call me a thief! I wasn’t trying to steal that cookie from you, and I’m definitely not trying to steal your number now!” Sokka laughs.

“Well, you clearly can’t re-steal something you already stole,” Zuko says.

“Oh, shut up, Zuko. Just give me your phone already.”

“Well, now, I don’t want it!”

“Zuko, don’t make me call you a fuck ton tonight, because don’t try me, I absolutely will. I’ll leave you super cringy voicemails, too.”

“Okay, okay, here’s my phone. But, uh-“ Zuko starts blushing on cue. “Maybe just one voicemail is okay. Not like anyone actually leaves voicemails anymore, but it’s not like I can stop you.”

“I knew you liked my cheesiness!” Sokka shouts.

“Ugh, never mind!”

“No, no, it’s too late! Now I will!”

Zuko just laughs and wraps his arm around Sokka’s waist to help him hobble towards the door.

oOo

“Hey, this is Zuko. I can’t come to the phone right now, so please leave a message after the beep-“

“Hey, Zuko, just wanted to say thank you for today. I know it’s probably not how you expected meeting Toph to go, and honestly, I’m a little scared that she and Azula seem to be on their way to becoming friends. But yeah, thank you for being worried and listening to me. And…yeah, also for carrying me, because not gonna lie, that’s kind of hot. This isn’t really that sappy ass voicemail I promised you-

“I’d say it’s already a bit sappy honestly.”

“What the fuck, Zuko?!”

“Gotcha.”

“Did you pretend to be your own voicemail?!”

“Yep. You say some nice things sometimes. Didn’t want to interrupt. But you’re finally done rambling, so goodnight, Sokka.”

“Wait, wait- Zuko! Oh, you hung up, huh. Well, fuck you and goodnight!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I originally thought this was going to be really short? But it somehow ended up one of the longest chapters. This was honestly just so ridiculous, but it felt like a nice way to do three different things I wanted to do. Feel free to guess what those three things were! Thank you so much for reading! As always, I really appreciate the kudos, comments, and bookmarks as well. Knowing people are enjoying this fic (and all its cheesiness) really makes my day. If you ever have questions about why I wrote something a specific way, feel free to ask! I'm also janedrakey131 on tumblr. Also, if any of you are getting notifications when I update a chapter, I'm so sorry, sometimes it's because I saw a typo and it'll annoy the shit out of me if I don't fix it. Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which there are superpowers, scones, and Lu Ten.
> 
> *please read at your discretion. There are themes of abandonment, emotional and mental abuse, and a moderate physical altercation. If anyone in your own life is treating you this way, please consider (if you are a position to do so) reaching out to a local hotline or your doctor even if it's just to have someone to talk to. Even if you don't necessarily know if/how you'd like things to change. The link below has phone numbers for a variety of different national hotlines depending on your situation:
> 
> https://victimconnect.org/resources/national-hotlines/

Zuko’s a little surprised, but he’s actually kind of excited when Katara and Aang show up the next day.

Sokka has class the whole day according to the text he got this morning.

_6:00 AM zuko!!! i’ll see your cute face later! gotta go learn me some science! have a good day!!!!_

But his sister and Aang apparently are free this morning and decide to hang out with him.

Zuko’s honestly a bit flattered.

Katara slides her stuff onto the table next to his, and Aang plops down across from them.

“How’s it going, Zuko?” Aang says, far too cheerfully for this early in the morning.

“Same old,” Zuko responds.

It’s a bit quiet without Sokka around, but it’s nice to be hanging out with other people.

oOo

“…so you’re saying that you wouldn’t pick super strength over flying?” Katara asks seriously.

“No, what would I even do with super strength? Bang my way out of things?”

Aang chokes on his tea.

Zuko just covers his face with his hands. “Just forget I said anything.”

“No, no,” Katara laughs. “There’s no way I’m going to forget this any time soon.”

oOo

They’re all reading the back of a tin of tea leaves.

“What is a ‘fresh mountain taste’?” Aang asks.

“Do you want to find out? I can make some,” Zuko says.

“Really?!”

Zuko’s thrown off by how happy he looks.

“I mean, I do work here,” Zuko chuckles.

Katara just starts pulling mugs out. “So that’s tea for the three of us then. Do we want anything to eat with it?”

Zuko’s already pulling out the scones Uncle made bright and early that morning.

Aang looks at him for a moment, eyes twinkling.

“Sokka was right,” he says.

“About what?” Zuko responds, tearing a chunk off a scone.

“You’re totally a tea snob,” Katara grins.

oOo

Zuko’s finally finished making the tea, and he enlists Aang’s help to deliver the mugs safely to the table.

It’s not that he’s nervous that they won’t like it. But this is a tea blend that he helped Uncle make. So he’s hoping they don’t completely hate it.

Katara takes a sip and hums appreciatively.

“This is really nice, Zuko,” she says.

Aang takes a cautious sip as well. His eyes light up. “This is so good?? I’m going to have to call you Sifu Hotman now!”

“Sifu what?” Zuko laughs.

“Hotman, because you know, you make hot tea?”

“That’s a bit weak even for you,” Katara teases.

“Yeah, yeah, but I’m telling you that nickname is going to stick.”

“Sure, Aang, and my name’s Pippinpaddleopsicopolis III,” she says.

“…does that fit on your license?” Zuko asks.

oOo

It’s the part of the morning where none of them feel like studying, and they’ve moved onto deep conversations.

“Do you ever miss your parents, Aang?” Katara asks.

Zuko thinks it’s a weirdly personal question to be asking in front of a near stranger. But they’ve talked about everything from superpowers to tea, so he supposes there aren’t many boundaries left.

Aang sighs. “Is it bad if I say not really? I barely knew them. And sure, I theoretically miss having parents as a concept. But it’s not like I didn’t have people who loved and cared for me. Not everyone has that, so I’m still one of the lucky ones, right?”

Zuko shrugs. “I’d say so. My mom fucked off when I was young. Didn’t even really say goodbye. Just one day she was there, and one day she was gone. Azula and I still don’t really know what happened to her. We don’t even know if she left voluntarily, or if she’s even alive.”

“Zuko…I’m so sorry,” Katara says.

“No, it is what it is. If she left, I can’t even blame her. I’m not sure how she stayed with my father as long as she did.”

“Zuko,” Katara starts. “You know you can understand a potential reason why she left, but that it’s still okay to be upset? If she left, she still chose to leave you and Azula with your father. And it would be totally valid to be upset by that.”

Zuko’s vision is going a little funny, so he rubs his eyes a little.

“Yeah,” he mutters, but his voice breaks a little.

Aang’s already there with an arm around him.

“If there’s anything I’ve learned,” Aang says quietly, “it’s that the relationships we choose are just as important, and sometimes more important, than the ones we’re born with. So maybe your mom isn’t in the picture, but you’ve got Azula, you’ve got Uncle Iroh, you’ve got Sokka, and now you’ve got us.”

Zuko laughs a little wetly. “You both barely even know me. I appreciate it, but you’re friends with Sokka, not me. You don’t have to be this nice.”

“Shut up,” Katara says, but she’s smiling. “We like you, Zuko. Sure, we met you because of Sokka, but we’re here hanging out with you, because we think you’re cool.”

“Sokka’s always going to be my main squeeze,” Aang nods. “But I still have plenty of room for you in my heart.”

Katara sighs. “What he’s trying to say is that we want to be friends with you. So even if we don’t know you well now, we’d like to spend more time with you.”

Zuko lasts a few more seconds before he gives up and hugs them.

oOo

Eventually, Aang and Katara leave after forcefully inputting their numbers into his phone.

There’s many “you’re getting invited the next time the whole gang gets together” and “we’ll be back sometime this week” and “can you make more baked goods.”

Zuko’s a little overwhelmed, but it seems very on brand that Sokka’s friends would adopt him as well.

It’s been a weird day, but Zuko cracks a little smile while washing the mugs.

oOo

After his new friends leave, Zuko closes up the tea shop, but he continues to study downstairs. Uncle is on a business trip, so he enjoys having so much space to himself. He’s already thinking about what he can cook for dinner in an hour or so.

He hasn’t locked the door quite yet, because usually the ‘Closed’ sign is enough to discourage most customers. So when he hears the door open, he doesn’t look up right away, and simply calls out, “I’m sorry, but we’ve already closed for-“

He’s cut off when a hand grabs him by the collar and yanks him out of his seat.

“You think you can ignore your own father?”

Zuko pales.

“I was going to give you the benefit of the doubt, Zuko. I thought ‘maybe his phone broke’ or ‘maybe he’s too sick to remember to check his phone.’”

The man shakes him.

“But no, I found you here with your little friends. Who was the boy, Zuko? I saw you…canoodling. I raised you better than that.”

Zuko’s starting to shake, but he’s refusing to make eye contact.

“What, you won’t even talk to your dear old dad now?”

His grip tightens painfully.

“Such a disappointment. You really could’ve been something special, Zuko.”

“But you had to follow along in my useless brother’s footsteps. What use are you to anyone now? All you do is study and make tea. You’re not going to lead. You’re not going to be head of my company. You’re just going to be here for the rest of your sad, pathetic, little life.”

Zuko bites the inside of his cheek, but he refuses to acknowledge his father.

“Cat got your tongue, boy? You’ll have to do better than that if you want me to leave. I already told you what I wanted. You just have to choose. Did you think I gave you this little reprieve from my presence for fun?”

His nails are biting into the skin of his palms, but Zuko’s somehow managed to avoid saying a single word.

“Now, Zuko. Staying silent really isn’t an option. But if that’s really your choice, I suppose that means you picked Azula.”

“No!” Zuko shouts, the words tearing out of him.

“Ah,” his father smirks. “So you can talk. I almost thought for a second you’d swallowed your tongue.”

“You can’t take Azula back!” Zuko yells. “She’s already spent years just trying to get away from you. I’m not letting you sink your hooks into her again.”

“Sink my hooks into her? As I recall, she hated you with absolutely no input from me. You really think she loves you now? She’s just biding her time. Watching and waiting. Why would she ever love someone like you? Just face it. You’re useless without me, Zuko. But Azula, Azula has so much potential. You really believed she needed you in her life? Did she tell you that? Did she tell you she wants you around? Or did she just tell you what you wanted to hear? That she loved you, too. Oh, she’ll say it, but she’ll never say it first. You don’t mean that much to her. She only cares about how she can use you.”

Zuko’s starting to shake again, but the fingers on his collar just keep tightening their grip.

“Oh, you did believe her. How tragic. I suppose you also believe your precious Uncle Iroh loves you? No, no, you don’t have to respond. I can see it in your eyes, Zuko. But you’re wrong. Your uncle doesn’t need you. He doesn’t want _you_. He just wants his son back.“

He must look confused for a split second, because his father looks positively delighted.

“He’s never even mentioned Lu Ten to you? Never mentioned his long-lost beloved son? He lost him so long ago, you were barely old enough to remember your own name. It doesn’t matter now. He wanted a son, so he found another. Even if he had to steal _mine_. That’s all you are in the end, Zuko. A disappointing replacement.”

His father is slowly, but inexorably, pulling him towards the open door of the tea shop.

“Where’s your little boyfriend, hmmm? Just give in, Zuko. There’s no one to save you this time. You’re coming home with me, or I’ll take Azula. It’s you or her. You always were useless at making decisions, but I need you to man up and take your pick this time.”

Zuko wonders how real life can be so much of a cliché sometimes. He actually hears roaring in his ears.

His father is still silkily whispering insults when Zuko’s fist connects with his jaw.

“Leave,” Zuko says.

His father screams in rage. “You think punching me will solve any of your problems?”

Zuko’s feeling a little steadier now. “Nah, but it sure felt good.”

The sting in his fingers is worth the red impression of knuckles on his father’s face.

His father looks like he’s about to hit back, but abruptly, he calms.

His smile is a bit bloody. “That took courage, Zuko. I almost lost hope that you’d ever be worthy of our family name. But when you’re backed in a corner,” he says, wiping some blood onto the back of his hand, “you pack a mean punch.”

“Could you be any more like a cartoon villain?” Zuko mutters, but he finds one last burst of energy to throw open the door and push his father out.

“I’ll see you next time, Zuko,” his father laughs as Zuko closes all the blinds.

Eventually, Zuko hears his father’s footsteps retreat from the doorstep.

The last of Zuko’s bravado fades away, and he shakily slides down the wall.

The molding is pressing uncomfortably into his back, but Zuko’s too busy trying to stop the tears to care.

The good days never really last.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for a certain character being OOC. I just really needed them to be this precise level of insane, so I ended up keeping it. Also, sorry, there's barely even a mention of Sokka in this chapter. It's shorter than I was intending to post today, but real life suddenly got a lot busier. I'll keep updating as regularly as possible though! Thank you all for reading this fic! And thank you for all the kudos, comments, and bookmarks. I'm truly blown away by how many people are reading and keeping up with this! Hope you continue to enjoy this fic!


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Sokka talks to Suki, there is Thai food, and Sokka talks to Toph.

“Hey, Suki, you’re on speaker. Just in case I sound a little funny.”

“Yeah, no worries, I can hear you just fine. You driving?”

“Yup! I’m actually on my way over to the tea shop. I was going to surprise Zuko with takeout? Nothing fancy, but I thought it might be nice? Is it weird? We’re not officially anything yet? What if he hates the takeout? I’ve totally messed up-“

“Sokka. Breathe.”

Sokka takes a huge breath in and lets it out.

Suki laughs. “Don’t just take one breath and hold it, you idiot.”

Sokka grins. “Yeah, okay, you totally caught me.”

“Yeah, we might not have talked in a little bit, but that doesn’t mean that isn’t absolutely something you’d do,” she says. Sokka can hear her still laughing a bit over the phone.

“I know this isn’t really that long of a call, since I’m just driving over to the tea shop, but I was thinking about calling you for a while now…and I kept talking myself out of it. Like this isn’t the right time or this conversation would be too short. But I feel like I’m finally figuring some things out? And I do want you in my life. You’re a really good friend. So I thought…why not start small?”

Sokka knows he’s rambling, but Suki hasn’t ever minded before.

“You know, I’m really happy you reached out. I know this isn’t the longest, but I think it’s nice to start somewhere. And I feel like we have a lot of life to catch up on. I think I missed the part where you ended up being pretty cool.”

“Ouch, Suki,” Sokka chuckles, stopping at a redlight. “Words hurt, you know.”

“Wait, sorry, that came out wrong again!”

“Nah, you’re fine. I get what you mean. I think at some point I realized that there were a lot of things out of my control, but there’s also a few small things that I can change. So I’m trying to be better about focusing on those.”

Sokka drums his fingers on the steering wheel.

“It sounds like you’re doing a lot better. You seem less in your own head.”

“Yeah, and honestly, Zuko helps with that a lot. Sorry, I know talking about who we’re dating now is probably a little weird.”

“I think we’ve passed weird a long time ago,” Suki says wryly. “Some exes really never should be friends. But I think we’re okay? I don’t have feelings for you anymore. And I’m pretty sure it’s the same for you…”

“Yeah, no offense or anything. We’re just actually over each other,” Sokka agrees.

“Yeah, exactly. So I feel like as long as we’re clear on where we stand. Talking about who we’re dating is fair game. That was kind of a tangent, but keep going about Zuko.”

“I don’t even know. It’s just that even if I’m rambling about something, he’ll just sit there and listen. And if I start apologizing for saying something, he immediately asks why I’m sorry for having thoughts and opinions. It’s not that no one else says that-“

“-but it’s the first time it’s really stuck, right?”

“Yup, it’s not like I wasn’t listening to anyone else. But I think I’m also in a better position now to actually listen. And he calls me out all the time. It’s a bit easier to create new habits when you have Zuko going ‘I heard that!’ every time you so much as think something really self-deprecating.”

“I know what you mean. At least a little. I used to tiptoe around Azula more, I guess? Not in a way that would be concerning for our dynamic. But I was always so anxious about seeming put together around her. I’d always have to have my shit together. Even with really minor things. I couldn’t even really explain it exactly…”

“That’s okay. Just say whatever comes to mind, and if I have questions or something, I can stop you?” Sokka says, flicking the turn signal on.

“Okay, um, I guess it’s like…okay, let’s say you ate an apple in class. You’ve got the core now, and you need to throw it out. What do you do?”

“Just get up and throw it out?”

“For a lot of people, yeah. But for me, I’d sit there agonizing about whether I could get up then, or if I should wait. And assume people would stare at me while doing it. So I’d have to sit there and hold the apple core until someone else got up to throw their trash out. It’s bad social anxiety plus some other stuff, I guess.”

“Okay, so I’m not saying this is the same, but it’s kind of like when you rehearse what you’re going to say to order coffee a million times in your head before you get to the cash register?”

“Yeah, that also goes along with it. So I guess long story short, Azula would stay over sometimes, and I’d have to have nice clothes out for the day or two she’d be there. I couldn’t just wear normal pjs or something. If we were talking, I’d just wait to go to the bathroom. I can’t even describe why I’d do this stuff. It’s not like I was thinking ‘something bad’s going to happen, so I can’t do this.’ It just…was. And one day, Azula asked me why I was wearing jeans and a nice shirt at 6am on a Saturday morning when we’d already decided to stay at my place and do nothing.”

“I’m guessing she said something more like ‘Going somewhere?’”

Suki laughs loudly. “Yup, exactly. She was sitting in the kitchen in the dark with some tea and totally scared me.”

“She would,” Sokka smiles.

“I think she said something like ‘you know, you don’t have to dress up when I’m here, right?’ And coming from Azula, one of the best dressed people I know…I’m not sure, I think the whole story just came out after that. All the anxiety and the waiting around and stressing about how to do really simple things other people usually have no issues with. And she just calmly looked at me for a second, made me some tea, and said ‘I’m happy you told me. What do you need?’ And I don’t think many other people have ever just listened to me and not said they’re sorry I feel that way, if that makes sense?” Suki says.

“I get what you mean.”

“It’s like here’s Azula, queen of saying whatever dramatic thing pops into her head. It’s always funny or over the top or sometimes jokingly self-absorbed. But the instant I needed her and her attention, she was right there with me. I didn’t know how to deal with that. And she didn’t try to fix it either? I don’t know, it just really wasn’t what I expected, and it’s one of the reasons I’m really happy I’m with her.”

“So I don’t think I quite understand the exact feeling of social anxiety and how it’s affecting you,” Sokka says after a moment. “Doesn’t mean I don’t think it’s a thing. I’m not an idiot. I don’t have to understand something completely to respect that it’s a thing and that it’s obviously affecting you. So I guess what I’m trying to say is, thank you for telling me, and if you’d ever like another person to talk to about this, I’m always happy to listen.”

“Thanks, Sokka. That…actually means a lot. I know it’s probably kind of surprising to hear, because I didn’t even tell you about it while we were dating-“

“Hey, hold up, dating or friends, you never owed me an explanation of what’s going on with you. I’m here and happy to listen if you want to share, but it’s not conditional to the friendship that you tell me all of your concerns. I’m just happy that you felt comfortable enough to share it. But you were never ever under an obligation to tell me.”

“…sometimes, you’re actually kind of awesome,” Suki says eventually.

“Yeah, I know,” Sokka says smugly. “I’m sorry to cut this short, and I really don’t mean to cut you off. But I’ve been sitting in my car for a while now, and my hands are starting to freeze-“

“What, Sokka, go inside! You didn’t cut me off-“

“But I feel like I did! I do want to keep talking about this with you-“

“Okay, we can! Just not now,” Suki replies. “Just go inside, don’t overthink things, and have a good time.”

Sokka is starting to feel a little queasy.

“Yeah, uh huh, sure. I’ll go do that-”

“Sokka.”

“Yeah?” he asks, and he’s embarrassed it comes out a little squeaky.

“What takeout did you get?”

“Oh, um, it’s nothing too fancy. Just some Thai food.”

“I have it on good authority that Zuko loves Thai food. The spicier the better. So relax and have some fun. You both spend a lot of time together working and not as much time just getting to chill together.”

“Yeah, okay, yeah. I’ll go in soon.”

“Alright, I’m going to hang up then. But text me tomorrow, and let me know how he likes the food! If he hates it, I’ll have to get Azula back somehow.”

“Okay, will do,” Sokka says, laughing a bit. “Bye, Suki. It was great talking to you.”

“You, too,” she says. “Bye, Sokka.”

oOo

Sokka eventually leaves the confines of his car and sprints the freezing few feet to the door of the tea shop.

He sees a light on in the back, which is promising. He’s about to unlock the door with his key, but out of the corner of his eye, he sees someone walking to a waiting black sedan. He can’t really explain why, but he gets a feeling and ducks behind the nearby row of cars for a better look.

The person is pretty far away by now, but he can see a long black coat…and unmistakable long hair. The man slides into the back seat, and the sedan speeds off.

One beat. Two. Sokka can feel his heart rate speeding up as he spins around to face the tea shop. The dark windows have never looked this ominous. He’s somehow pulled out the key and is about to fit it into the lock, but it gives way with a push of his hand.

He’s shoving the door out of his way and rushing into the tea shop. The front is dark, only illuminated by a few streetlights.

Maybe Zuko’s in the back?

He’s about to hurry over when he thankfully looks down and just manages to avoid stepping on a crumpled shape.

“…Zuko?” Sokka calls uncertainly.

“Zuko?” he calls again when he gets no response.

He reaches out his hand, but it’s shaking wildly.

“Zuko, are you alright?”

He hears some muffled words, but he can’t quite make them out.

“What did you say?” he asks softly.

“I said,” Zuko mutters angrily, finally removing his head from his arms, “’why do you care?’”

“...what do you mean ‘why?’ I really care about you, Zuko. I just want to know if you’re okay,” Sokka says hesitantly.

“Oh, yeah, sure. I’m fine and dandy. Never been better,” Zuko laughs bitterly.

Sokka’s never been the most patient, so he thinks maybe he needs to rip the bandaid off a little.

“I saw your father leaving.”

Zuko deflates.

“Zuko…whatever he said to you…it’s not true,” Sokka tries.

“Not true? What the fuck isn’t true about it? He’s right. I came here just to hide away from him. I’m going to school and whatever, but would it be so bad to continue running the tea shop while I got my degree? And honestly even after? But oh, no, I’m ruining the family name once again.”

Sokka can hear a bit of a sob.

He moves a bit closer, still leaving a few feet in between them and also slides down the wall.

“I don’t care what he says about me, and he doesn’t really know enough about you to insult you. I’m pretty sure he thinks I’m dating Aang actually, because he was skulking about and saw Aang give me a hug. But- but, Sokka, he said…about Azula and Uncle…” Zuko trails off.

Sokka takes a deep breath and stretches his hand across the space between them.

There’s a few seconds where Sokka’s sure that Zuko is just going to ignore his hand, turn away, or scream at him.

He turns his head away and pulls his hand back down.

“…what about-“ he’s cut off by not just Zuko’s hand grabbing his own.

The air rushes out of his lungs when he’s faced with an armful of Zuko.

The hug is uncomfortable.

It’s all pointy edges and elbows and his own sleeve bunched up in his face. Sokka just pulls Zuko a bit closer and runs a hand through his hair.

“What about your uncle?” he asks again, trying to keep his voice calm.

There’s silence for long enough Sokka doesn’t think Zuko plans on answering.

But eventually, he hears the soft words. “He said I was just a replacement for Uncle. Something about someone named Lu Ten. And stealing his son as a replacement.”

Sokka sucks in a breath.

“I think that’s a little too…for him to be completely making it up. But Zuko…” Sokka turns slightly so he can make eye contact. “There’s nothing and no one your uncle cares for more than you and Azula. He’s always thinking about you. I barely know him, and it’s so obvious. Don’t let your father take that away.”

“He already has. He knew what he was doing. Even if I don’t believe it at all. There’s still that doubt.”

“So? We’ll remove the fucking doubt, Zuko. Maybe it’ll be hard to talk to your uncle about it, but we’re not just going to let your father fuck everything up. You’ve been working so hard to get where you are now.”

Zuko’s silent for awhile.

“What if it’s true?” he says.

Sokka sighs. “Is your father in the habit of telling the truth?”

“No,” Zuko replies. “He lies and cheats and twists the truth until you can’t tell what’s what anymore.”

“Doesn’t that sound a bit like what he’s doing now?”

“I guess.”

There’s too much silence today, but Sokka is running out of things to say.

“I’m here for you,” he says finally.

He can tell Zuko’s pretty much done talking for now. Nothing’s been resolved. But Zuko’s still sitting there with him, so Sokka maneuvers a little to get more comfortable.

Zuko doesn’t really say anything for a long time. But Sokka feels a little relieved when Zuko gives him one tight squeeze.

oOo

Eventually, Sokka’s texted his dad that he’ll be home late or tomorrow. He’s also texted Katara just in case.

He finally coaxes Zuko into a comfy chair in the tea shop and places a mug of chamomile tea in his hands.

After searching for a couple minutes, he finds the unattended Thai food, and he starts serving for both of them.

“Okay, we’re going to eat. And if you’re up to it, maybe you can tell me about the thing your father said about Azula,“ he says.

Zuko’s had a chance to become slightly more calm. He still looks wrecked. His eyes are red, and his hands have clearly been tugging at his hair for a while. But he seems slightly more present. So when he nods in response, Sokka feels comfortable continuing.

“Okay, that’s-”

He’s cut off by his own ringtone.

Sokka’s honestly about to ignore it.

It’s not really the time for phone calls. Zuko needs him to be present.

But he sees Suki’s name, and he starts to get another very bad feeling.

So he gives Zuko a quick look and grabs his hand.

“Hey, Suki.”

“Sokka…have you seen Azula?” Suki says, sounding a bit frantic.

“I haven’t- I’ve been here with Zuko since we talked earlier. Is everything okay?”

“I don’t really know? We were talking on the phone, because I was heading home, and your takeout inspired me. But- but then, the call got disconnected? I came home and- and- Sokka, she’s not here. The place is a mess-“

Sokka’s heart is pounding, but he fights back the building panic.

“Suki, I need you to get out of there right now. Come over to the tea shop. I’m going to call Katara and Toph. Are you okay to drive? Or do you want me to get someone to pick you up?”

“I- I think I can drive, but Sokka, what the fuck is going on? Where’s Azula? Why do I need to come to the tea- actually, never mind. I have no idea what’s going on, but this feels like the part in the horror movie where the girl asks too many questions. So I’m going to swing by Toph’s place and pick her up. Can you call her? And the rest?”

“Yeah, I’m on it. And Suki, just please be careful.”

“I will. I’ll see you in a few with Toph and the rest.”

Sokka hangs up and squeezes Zuko’s hand.

“I know what you’re thinking. I’m worried, too. Let me just make some calls.”

But apparently, he doesn’t have to worry, because instead of looking even more broken down, Zuko is starting to look angry.

“It’s fine. I can call Katara. I have her number now, so…can you just call Toph…please?” he tacks on.

Sokka looks at him for a moment.

Zuko looks back and then sighs. “I’m not okay. Not even close. But I need help. Uncle’s not here. And your friends actually seem to want me around, so hopefully-“

Sokka cuts him off gently. “They’re starting to become _our_ friends.”

Zuko nods.

Then he moves away slightly to call Katara.

Sokka takes a deep breath and calls Toph.

“Lover boy, what kind of time do you call this?” she answers. “What about my beauty sle-“

“Toph.”

She must be able to tell by his voice, because she stops immediately.

“What’s going on?”

“I need you at the tea shop. Suki’s on the way to pick you up. Katara and Aang are on the way, too.”

“Alright…I’ll be downstairs in five. Do you need me to bring anything?”

“…just you. I really just need you, Toph.”

He can hear her stop rummaging around.

“Sokka,” she says, and he knows she’s serious, because she never uses his first name. “What happened?”

“Azula’s gone.”

“I’m assuming not a late night stroll.”

“I saw her father leave the tea shop when I got here,” Sokka says tonelessly.

“Did he have enough time to get to Suki’s place?”

“Yeah, more than,” Sokka replies.

“He’s got her then.”

“Yeah.”

“…fucking fuck.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry I didn't get a chance to edit this, but I really wanted to post today. So if you see a lot of minor grammar fixes tomorrow, that's why. I hope you still enjoy! Please let me know what you think. Again, I'm sorry if some characters are OOC. This chapter is a lot longer than the others. And honestly, this idea just came to me a couple hours ago. Thank you all for reading! And thank you for all the kudos, comments, and bookmarks!
> 
> Update: Mostly finished editing, so it should be a little easier to read now!


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which there are phone calls, more food, and maybe Azula.

“…Toph? Are you guys on the way?”

“Lover boy, we’ve got a bit of a problem.”

“What’s going on?” Sokka holds the phone between his ear and shoulder as he scrounges up a laptop and sits back down next to Zuko.

“We’re being followed. Suki says it’s a black sedan, tinted windows, the works. Sound like the one you saw earlier?”

“Yeah, that’s him. But why’s he following you?”

“Not sure, but even if he knows where the tea shop is, I think we’re going to try to lose him before showing up. There’s no point in announcing that we all know Azula’s gone.”

“Are you guys okay to do that? It might take a long time to shake him.”

“Hey, Sokka, it’s Suki. Toph just put us on speaker. I can lose this asshole, but I’m going to need you to navigate for a little bit. I don’t want to end up in the middle of nowhere.”

“Yeah, sure thing,” Sokka says, pulling up Google Maps. “Think we can lose one middle-aged man, Suki?”

“Of course. Just like old times.”

oOo

“What old times?” Zuko whispers later, poking Sokka. “Why does that sound vaguely illegal?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Sokka hisses as he puts his phone on speaker as well, digging his elbow into Zuko’s side.

“Alright, ladies, buckle up, I’m going to give you the ride of your life.”

“Lover boy, just stick to the love interest you’ve got next to you. The one you might actually be able to get your hands on.”

“Ugh, guys, that’s not what I meant!”

“You trying to tell me you didn’t just do some finger guns at no one?”

“Can confirm,” Zuko, the lying traitor says. “He definitely did.”

“I didn’t! And Toph, how do you even know I do that?”

“I have my ways.”

“Are those ways called Aang?”

“The ways have many names, but sometimes they go by Aang,” Toph concedes. “Anyway, enough of that. This is going to take a while. Lucky for you, Suki seems really well-prepared for a car chase.”

“…who are you friends with?” Zuko mutters.

“Excuse you, Sparky, you must’ve meant ‘who are _we_ friends with?’”

“….yeah, yeah, I did.”

“Excellent. And to answer your question. Suki’s the assassin/getaway car, I’m the muscle, and Sokka’s the brains.”

“…out of curiosity, who are Katara and Aang?”

“I’m the martial arts expert,” she responds from right behind him.

“Holy shit, Katara! Give a guy some warning!” Sokka shrieks.

“This way is more fun,” she smirks.

Zuko just smiles slightly at her and nods. “Who’s Aang then?”

Aang strolls in.

“Thief, the sneaky one, whatever. Here,” he says, tossing Zuko his wallet back.

“Does anyone want to tell me why you’re like this?” Zuko says after catching it.

“…it’s a long story. But someone stole Appa at one point.”

“We un-stole him,” Toph says unhelpfully from over the phone.

“…who’s Appa?”

“You don’t know who Appa is??” Aang shouts. “He’s only the most loveable, coolest, best animal ever!”

“Are you telling me you…needed all this…to rescue a pet?” Zuko asks, sounding like truly nothing can surprise him anymore.

“No, no, no. I mean, yes. But also, no. Anyway, now the gang’s all here.”

“But Suki and Toph are still on the-“

“Zuko, we were having a moment. I meant that the gang’s all here now that you’re also one of us. Azula’s going to join when we get her back, too.”

“…thanks, I think.”

oOo

“…okay, and two streets down make one more left. Can you see him yet?”

“No…I really didn’t think we’d lose him this quickly though,” Suki says.

“What if…hang on, let me check the map real quick,” Sokka says, zooming in hurriedly on the section ahead.

“Yeah, yep, that’s what I thought,” he says finally. “Turn around now.”

“Sokka, we’re in the middle of the street. There are other cars around-“

“Don’t care. I’m telling you, turn _right now_.”

“Ugh, okay, fine.”

A minute or so of quiet passes.

“Fuck, you were right, Sokka. They were setting up an ambush. I can see three black sedans a street over. We would’ve driven right into them.”

“…wait, Suki…”

“Yeah, Sokka?”

“Take the next left and get onto that highway as fast as you can.”

“…okay, did that. Why though?”

“Just a hunch. Keep an eye on that rearview mirror.”

A few minutes go by, and Sokka’s about to tell them to head over to the tea shop now. He can hear Katara and Aang ordering food for everyone and storing the uneaten Thai food in the fridge. He smiles at them in thanks, while continuing to pour over the laptop.

“Yup, shit, he’s back.”

“Couldn’t I be wrong just once?” Sokka wonders, and Zuko squeezes his shoulder.

“Um…Sokka, he’s gaining on us…”

“Ah, fuck, okay, take exit 232A, loop around the fast food place, and get back on the highway.”

“Okay, but Sokka, he’s really starting to catch up now.”

“Lover boy, you thinking what I’m thinking?”

“Actually, yeah, can you?” Sokka says speculatively.

“Sure thing, buddy, but it’s not going to be pretty.”

“I don’t really care right about that now. He’s kind of stalking college students at this point. And I want you guys back here before 10.”

“Aye, aye, Captain.”

There’s a pause, the sound of the window being rolled down, then the sound of screeching tires, and a small explosion.

“Yep, that’s done. We’re on our way back now. We’ll take a few detours though,” Toph says, and Sokka hears her dusting her hands off.

oOo

“What exactly did Toph do?” Zuko asks when he and Sokka go to pay for the takeout.

“Oh…she kind of popped their tires with… you know, stuff.”

“She popped the tires with stuff.”

“Yeah. I’d tell you more, but it’s kind of her trade secret,” Sokka laughs, rubbing the back of his head.

“I don’t even want to know,” Zuko says with the hint of a smirk.

“Ugh, seriously, Zuko. No smirking right now. I can’t just hide in the back and kiss you the rest of the night.”

“I mean, you could.”

“Zuko, you’re not helping,” Sokka says playfully. “I’m happy you’re…feeling a little more even keeled right now, but I’m guessing it’s probably shock, at least somewhat. You know we’re going to find her, right?”

“Yeah,” Zuko says. “I’m not okay. This is just exhaustion, I guess. I feel like I can’t freak out now until we’ve done…whatever we can? I don’t even know what that is though.”

“Hey, hey, hey,” Sokka stops, holding the food a safe distance away so he can drag Zuko into a one-armed hug. “We’re going to figure this out. I have a weird feeling there’s something we’re missing though.

Zuko hugs back briefly and then picks up the other boxes to follow him into the other room.

“I’m not sure yet,” Sokka replies, setting the food down in front of a salivating Aang.

“I think the weirdest part to me is just how long they spent trying to track down Suki,” Katara says as she flips open a container. “It’s not like they were following Toph. And what’s the point of following Suki? It’s not like-“

“Oh, fuck,” Sokka says, coming to the same realization.

“They don’t have her?” they say at the same time.

“Then where the hell is she?” Aang asks as he rummages for a fork.

“I’m not sure,” Sokka responds. “But I think…we might have to-“

He’s cut off by the sound of the door opening.

oOo

“It’s just us,” Suki says to Sokka’s relief.

“I’m glad you guys made it here. You definitely lost them with that?”

“Yep, the car was trashed,” Toph replies smugly.

“Nice job, man,” Sokka beams.

“Thank you, thank you. Also, here,” Toph says, tossing her phone over to Sokka. “My phone chimed in the car on the way over, but we were a little too busy to check.”

Zuko catches it when Sokka fumbles. He places the phone in Sokka’s hands lightly.

“Butterfingers,” he smirks.

“Zuko,” Sokka hisses, leaning closer to Zuko. “We just made the smirking illegal.”

“What’re you going to do, punish me?” Zuko also moves closer, continuing to smirk.

“Would lover boy and his love interest like some space?” Toph says cheerfully from right in between them.

“Nope! Nope, we’re totally good,” Sokka replies, backing up. He places his hand on Zuko’s forehead to push him away when he tries to follow. “Not sure where exactly Mr. Flirty Pants is coming from, but I think Zuko’s had a long day.”

“No kidding. Alright, I’ll hold your boy’s hand for a bit. You check my phone.”

“Kay,” Sokka says, unlocking the phone.

“….you’ve got a voicemail…?”

“Who leaves voicemails?” Aang says.

“This one here,” Zuko replies nonchalantly.

“What! No, haha, what do you mean, Zuko? I’ve never left any voicemails,” Sokka hedges unconvincingly.

“What does the voicemail say?” Toph raises her voice.

“Oh…right,” Sokka responds. “Here, let me just play it, and I’ll up the volume.”

oOo

_“You’ve reached Toph, leave a message after the beep, you loser.”_

_“….-oph? Shit…hear me?...can’t tell…guess I’ll have…try. Sorry…know you probably…remember me, but…first number…I saw…-fore…phone…-oke. I’m at……..can…pick me up? Father’s looking…not sure how…time I have… Can you tell Zuko…I lo-…him, I’m okay…I’m on the way to……..stay at…shop…be home soon. Mind if…stay with you…a bit…”_

And then it cuts out completely.

At some point, Zuko had grabbed his hand, and Sokka’s sure there are going to be bruises in the morning. His hand is already going numb, and he has to gently loosen his grip.

“So what exactly does this mean?” Aang says, his own hand reaching out to squeeze Toph’s shoulder.

“I’m not sure,” Sokka responds. “Honestly, it could mean, they got her and she had time to leave this before they did? But that doesn’t really add up. Or…she got away, was literally hiding, and that’s why they were following Suki, because they thought she’d lead them to Azula.”

“Why call me though?” Toph mutters uncomfortably.

“What she was probably saying was that you were the first one she saw. And she took the risk of calling someone before her phone gave out. I think it’s most likely that she wasn’t caught somehow. But she’s at a real risk of being caught now.”

“So we’ve just got to figure out where she is,” Zuko says.

“No,” Sokka admits grimly. “We’ve got to figure out where she is before your dickhead of a dad and beat him there.”

oOo

“Okay, Zuko, I need you to think really hard. Is there anywhere Azula would go to lay low for a while? Anywhere, she used to like to hide out in to get away?”

“Yeah.”

“Wait, really? Where?” Sokka says, not expecting it to be this easy.

“Here.”

Sokka barely refrains from facepalming, but Zuko looks like he’s trying so hard to be helpful.

“Okay, that’s good. Anywhere else, Zuko? Anywhere at all?”

“There might be one place? But I don’t think she’s been there in years. Not sure if she’d remember it right now.”

“That’s fine. Do you know the address?” Sokka asks.

“Yeah, I’ve got it written down in that ancient rolodex on the counter? The one that we use as a paper weight.”

Katara’s already grabbing it, and Sokka takes it with a word of thanks.

Zuko flicks through it briefly before pulling a card out. “Yeah, it’s this one. Uncle had an old apartment there. It’s kind of a crappy place, but our father shouldn’t know about it.”

Sokka looks up at Suki.

“I know you want to go-“

“I’m going Sokka-“

“-and I’m not saying no.”

“-it doesn’t matter what you say- oh…really? You mean that?”

“Of course. You’re the only reliable driver we have, too,” Sokka jokes. “I think you and Katara should go. I know it sounds like a weird combination, but I think we need Toph here in case the asshat turns up here. And I…”

“No, you have to stay here,” Katara says firmly.

And Sokka spares a moment to pull her into a hug.

“You know you don’t have to do this, right?” he whispers into her hair.

She squeezes him. “You know Gran would have my head if I left my friends to fight by themselves.”

“Yeah,” Sokka laughs. “She’d never let you live it down.”

“And Zuko’s my friend, too.”

“Yeah…he is,” Sokka replies. “Get her back?”

“Of course,” Katara says and pulls back. “Right, Suki, we need to go. You got everything?”

“Yeah, I have my car charger for our phones. I’ve got extra food, water, and clothes, just in case. I just pumped gas. We’re good.”

“…wow, okay, I just meant if you like had your shoes on and everything, but that’s cool, too.”

“Never mind,” Sokka says, waving it away.

“Yeah, alright, we’ll be in touch,” Suki says.

oOo

It’s been maybe an hour since Suki and Katara left. Zuko’s so tired, but he’s scared if he closes his eyes, Azula will still be gone when he wakes up.

Next to him, Sokka’s fallen asleep. He’d insisted on waiting with Zuko. It was Aang’s turn to peer out the window and make sure his father hadn’t turned up again. But over the last few minutes, Sokka’s drifted onto Zuko’s shoulder. Ever so slowly, Sokka starts sliding down, and eventually, Zuko just pulls him down so his head is in his lap.

Zuko doesn’t mind. Sokka’s been trying so hard for so long. A little nap will do him good.

He hears Sokka’s ringtone again, and he presses accept on the phone, regretfully nudging Sokka awake as well.

“Hey, Zuko,” Katara says. “I’m so sorry, but she’s not here.”

Zuko doesn’t really hear much more.

oOo

“-ko! Zuko! Zuko!” he hears.

There’s someone tapping on his face, and it’s really annoying.

He finally opens his eyes.

“Sokka? Where am I? Is everything okay?

Sokka gives him an odd look. “We’re still in the tea shop, and you fainted.”

“…she wasn’t there, was she?”

“…no,” Sokka says. “But you missed the part about how we found a note from her.”

“We did?”

“Yeah, Suki and Katara are almost back, and then we can all look at it together.”

“Okay,” Zuko replies.

oOo

_Suki-_

_I’m admitting myself, because he’s proud enough to think that no daughter of his would do that. Come find me. It’s where I got my first journal._

_Love, Azula_

oOo

“Does that mean anything to you?” Sokka nods at Suki.

“…no,” she says and bites her lip.

“It’s your lucky day then,” Toph pipes up. “This is one of the few conversations we had together. She got her journal when she started seeing a therapist. She probably went to her old apartment near there. I don’t have the address, but I know she secretly bought it back last year.”

“Zuko,” Sokka says.

Zuko’s already writing down the address.

“Here,” he says, handing it to Katara.

Katara and Suki both give Zuko a hug before leaving.

oOo

“Hey, find anything?” Sokka says when he picks up the phone.

“We just got here, but there are lights on, so that’s something.”

“Okay, that’s a good- hey, wait, I’m getting an incoming call…from Azula?”

Sokka takes a deep breath, mutters an apology to Suki and accepts the call.

“….you think you can run away from me? Really? I _made_ you…”

Sokka hears the sound of wood splintering.

“Suki…”

“On it.”

oOo

Zuko’s fallen asleep for a couple minutes. And Sokka’s pretty sure listening to this conversation would traumatize him, so he leaves him be.

There’s the sound of glass shattering and a scream. “You really think after all you’ve fucking done to him that I’d go back with you? I’d choose Zuko over you every time.”

“You could’ve been my best work yet,” her father says, sounding wistful. “But now, you’re just more trash I have to recycle.”

“At least I can be recycled, you on the other hand are just non-biodegradable landfill slop,” Azula taunts.

Sokka hears a loud smack and a thud.

“Don’t bother getting up, Azula. You’re just going to come with me eventually-“

The older man curses.

He hears the door open and shut, but there’s no movement from Azula even when he calls to her.

Several minutes later, Sokka hears the door break down.

He sighs in relief when he hears Azula’s voice murmuring next to the phone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter really didn't turn out the way I wanted it to, so it's not the greatest. Hope you enjoy at least the idea behind it! I once again didn't really get the chance to edit, but I'll try to correct things tomorrow. Thank you so much to anyone reading and anyone leaving kudos, comments, and bookmarking this fic!
> 
> Update: Just kidding apparently, I finished most of the editing.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which there are hugs, hot tea, and a new pov, not in that order.

There’s blood all down her shirt. Collar to hem.

She’s got drying blood on her forehead, her arm, under her nails.

She just wants to scream and scream and scream.

She bites it back.

Her father’s probably lurking somewhere, watching and waiting. She’s not going to give him the satisfaction. She’ll keep her eyes closed and pretend that she’s sitting in Suki’s place, letting the other girl braid her hair.

She can feel the drip, drip, drip of the blood as it rolls down her forehead.

“Azula?” she hears someone say softly.

“No!” she screams, yanking her arm away from the other person. “I’m not going back. You’re not getting Zuko or me!”

She’s fighting and fighting until she notices the other person’s gone.

A couple seconds pass, her heart pounding. She’s too scared to open her eyes right now, half expecting her father’s eyes to be smiling mockingly down at her.

There’s another voice this time. She’s heard it her whole life.

“Hey, Azula,” it says quietly.

She wants to sob.

“Did they get you, too?” she asks, keeping her eyes shut.

Zuko’s chuckle is strained.

“Nah, Katara and Suki got you back to the tea shop. You’ve been sitting in the car a little while though. Do you want to come inside? Get a bit cleaned up?”

She shakes her head. “What if _he’s_ here?”

He sucks in a breath. “I mean, I already punched him one time tonight, so I think I could go a few more rounds.”

“ _You what?!_ ” she screeches, eyes popping open.

Zuko’s smirking, leaning down into the car with one arm propped up on the roof.

“Let’s get you inside.”

oOo

“Sokka,” Katara says while Zuko’s putting on a brave face and pulling Azula upstairs to get a change of clothes.

“Yeah?” Sokka says.

“She’s…okay. But she’s not doing great. I know her father’s insane, but why does he want them this badly? It’s clearly not that he cares about them specifically.”

“I honestly…don’t know,” Sokka replies. “But something’s not right.”

Katara puts a hand on his shoulder. “I can practically feel your brain whirring from here. Don’t work yourself too hard. I know how much you care, but it’s only been a few hours. Our priority now is to hear whatever she’s willing and able to tell us and then probably get some sleep.”

Sokka sighs.

“You’re right.”

She smiles and pulls away.

“Wait.”

She turns back.

“Thanks for going, Katara.”

“Of course.”

oOo

She’s just in the bathroom.

She knows she needs to change her clothes.

She does want to wash the blood off as best she can.

But she’s just standing there staring at her reflection.

Does she look like her father?

Hasn’t she also hurt her brother enough?

“Azula? Everything okay?”

His low voice should startle her, but it’s actually comforting.

“I’m okay,” she responds, turning away from the mirror’s taunts.

oOo

Sokka doesn’t really get to talk to Suki for long. He knows there’s probably too many thoughts racing through her head right now, so he just gives her a quick hug when Zuko pulls Azula away.

“Sokka,” she says, and she just looks scared and alone.

“Sokka…you didn’t see her. I know you heard, but I’m just so, so angry.”

He can feel her shaking, and he pulls away slowly.

“We’re going to find him,” he promises. “You know me. I won’t stop until I do.”

Suki looks at him searchingly.

And then she smiles.

It’s a little bit terrifying.

oOo

Azula’s wrapped up in a blanket and sitting in the most comfortable chair in the tea shop. One hand is resting on Suki’s knee gently, but he can see it shake occasionally.

Zuko’s behind the counter trying to make tea. He’s staring at the water boiling and washing a dirty mug right now. But he can barely tell what blend he’s selected, or if he’s actually doing anything at all. He feels a pair of hands wrap around his own and pull the mug away.

“You’ve been at it for awhile there, buddy. I think the mug is clean,” Sokka says gently.

Zuko can feel his shoulders hunch. He didn’t realize he was still scrubbing.

“I just…don’t know what else I can do right now.”

Sokka nudges him.

“Let’s just hand out the tea and hear what Azula can tell us, okay? We’ll deal with the rest later.”

Zuko’s too exhausted to do more than nod, and he watches Sokka arrange the mugs of tea on a tray.

“I’m sorry I roped you into this,” he says, the words slipping out before he can stop them.

Sokka’s hands still on the mugs.

“She’s sitting right there, and I feel like if I blink, she’s going to be gone, you’re going to be gone. And it’ll just be my father and me and this dark, empty tea shop.”

Zuko rubs at his scar angrily. “I don’t know what to say to her now. In the end, I couldn’t even be there to help.”

He feels Sokka’s fingers against his own again, pulling his hand away before he starts scratching.

“Hey, hey, we never would’ve been able to find her if you didn’t have the addresses. Look, if anyone had the right to blame you for this, it would be her, right?”

He feels hollow. “Yeah, I guess.”

“Maybe talk to her then. I know you must be scared and worried. But man, she loves you. You didn’t hear her at the end, but she stood up to your father for you. I’m pretty sure she just wants her older brother right now.”

He just nods one more time and helps Sokka bring the tea over to the rest. But before they make it around the counter, he looks at Sokka and mouths a thank you.

Sokka just smiles gently.

While handing out mugs, he makes eye contact with his sister. She looks regal and proud, even sitting in his borrowed clothes. Almost put together, if it weren’t for the bruise developing down the right side of her face.

Zuko almost wants to wince. Her lip is split, and there’s a cut threading through her eyebrow.

Azula just raises the eyebrow at him, daring him to say anything. He struggles for a moment, but he finds whatever courage had deserted him since their father left, and he sinks into the cushioned seat next to her.

He might be imagining things, but he feels her shoulders relax by a fraction when he hesitantly puts his arm around her.

One heartbeat, two. Then she releases a full body sigh and leans heavily against his side.

oOo

She knows she’s sitting with Zuko.

She can feel the brush of his hair. She can feel the beat of his heart.

It feels like she hasn’t seen him in years.

She scoots a little closer.

He doesn’t say anything, but she can feel his arm tighten around her.

oOo

They’re all silent for a few minutes, sipping away at their tea.

Zuko almost wants to scream, just to add some noise and break the silence.

He waits instead.

Sokka leaves for a second and returns with ice and a first aid kit.

Suki smiles at him and takes it, beginning the slow process of cleaning Azula up.

Zuko really thinks they’re going to continue to sit there for some time, but he clearly forgot that Azula’s never been quiet in her life.

“Suki, quit _poking_ at me already. It’s not that bad.”

“Azula.”

Azula shuts up.

There’s something about the way Suki’s carefully dabbing at the cuts and scrapes that puts a lump in Zuko’s throat. The words are out before he can stop them.

“I’m so sorry-“

“ _Shut up.”_

Zuko can feel everyone turn to stare at Azula.

She’s not even looking at him.

“You don’t get to tell me you’re sorry this time. I’m not just going to let you sit there and blame yourself for this,” she says.

“But it’s-“ he starts.

She whips around, her hair just missing his face.

“Don’t you start,” she snarls. Zuko doesn’t think he’s ever seen her this angry.

“Zuko, this wasn’t your fault, and I don’t blame you. Look, I love you, and I want to be there for you. But I need you to not need me right now. I have so much going on in my head. I’m sorry, but I can’t sort out your issues, too. I need to deal with me before I can talk to you about it.”

Zuko doesn’t know what to say at first. His sister wipes away a couple tears, but she doesn’t stop looking determined.

For once, the anxiety is quiet.

“Okay,” he says. “What do you need?”

Azula pulls away to look at him for a moment, and then she turns away.

“I need a place to stay.”

Zuko doesn’t have to think. “Done.”

oOo

She has to blink away the image of Ozai stalking closer.

She picks at the hem of Zuko’s sweatpants, because the feeling stops her from thinking her fingers are still scrabbling at the carpet of the apartment.

All that scrubbing, and she still doesn’t feel clean.

oOo

Everyone’s very patiently munching away at their food and sipping their tea. Sokka knows that if this was any other time, Zuko would be scrunching his nose up at the combination like the tea snob he is.

But he knows they’re all just waiting for Azula to speak.

It’s maybe ten more minutes. It starts with Azula fidgeting with the sleeve of her borrowed shirt. Her fingers start shaking more and more and then Zuko grabs her hand and squeezes.

Azula’s quiet for a moment, but then Sokka sees her take a breath and squeeze back.

oOo

“I was waiting in Suki’s place,” Azula begins, her voice steady.

“You don’t have to-“ Sokka starts.

“No, I do,” Azula cuts him off quietly. “I appreciate you trying, but all of you tried so hard to get me back. Thank you doesn’t really suffice. Maybe by telling you what I know…maybe something will make sense.”

She sighs, but she continues.

“Suki was getting takeout for us, but our father showed up. He was ringing the doorbell and pretending to just want to talk. So…I hid behind the door and smacked him with an umbrella.”

There’s a short burst of laughter from Zuko, before he muffles it.

Azula throws him an amused look. “He…wasn’t too pleased by that.”

She takes a deep breath, patting Suki’s knee like the feeling is grounding her. “Anyway, I managed to run past him and calmly walked past his little minions and took the stairs down. At one point, they caught on and were chasing me down the stairs. But I got off on a random floor and hid in the trash room until they went by. That’s when I left the voicemail for Toph. Not the greatest signal in there, but I was hoping it would be enough. They eventually left, and I headed over to Uncle’s old property. I knew I couldn’t stay there long, and I’m pretty sure I picked up a tail somehow. So I left that note with lots of gibberish. Toph already knew the only line that mattered, so it was just a matter of someone finding it and hoping they told her about it. It was a long shot, but it felt like anything else would be too obvious. And well, then I hid out in my old apartment.”

She pauses for a second, swallowing shakily. “And he showed up again. Just smashed through the door and came in. I managed to call Sokka around then. I don’t…actually know why I had his number.”

“Uh, I can answer that part,” Sokka says. “Your uncle said he gave you my number just in case I couldn’t contact Zuko or him.”

“…I’m choosing to ignore that I’ve apparently deleted that from my memory. I probably didn’t know what a Sokka was,” she smirks slightly.

“Excuse you,” Sokka says, but he’s smiling.

“Anyway, you heard pretty much the rest of that. We were yelling at each other, he pushed me around a few times and hit my head. I think he must’ve seen the car from the window, because I take it he wasn’t there when you showed up? I think we’d moved to the bedroom, because I was trying to shut the bathroom door on him.”

“Yep, can confirm. We didn’t see hide nor hair of the sleazy bastard,” Toph replies.

oOo

Sokka sees Azula kneading the material of the blanket, slowly getting more and more agitated.

“I think that’s enough,” he decides. “Thanks for filling in the gaps, Azula. I can’t really say for sure, but I think he’s definitely having you followed at the very least. And now that’s extending to Suki.”

“ _What,”_ Azula says, glaring at Suki.

“It was nothing,” Toph pipes up. “Totally handled it.”

“Thank you, Toph, but she shouldn’t have to deal with-“

“With what?” Suki says calmly. “Your crazy family? No offense, Zuko.”

“None taken,” he says lightly.

“ _Yes_ ,” Azula says. “You didn’t sign up for this brand of crazy.”

“Except I sort of did. If I wanted out, I would’ve said it a long time ago. You’re kind of stuck with me.”

“You’re kind of stuck with all of us,” Katara says.

Azula sighs in frustration. “You definitely don’t know me at all! Have we even met?”

“Not sure actually,” Aang pipes up. “But it doesn’t really matter, does it? You’re important to Zuko and Suki, so you’re important to us.”

“That’s…that’s not how it works-“ Azula tries.

“Kind of is, buddy,” Sokka says firmly. “You’re one of us now, so sit back and drink your tea. We need to figure out what your father wants exactly.”

Sokka sees Azula reach for her tea, but he pulls it out of her reach. “It’s already cold. I’ll make you some more.”

“Oh, fuck that. Just give it here,” Azula grimaces, grabbing the mug back.

She holds one hand below and heats the tea.

Sokka blinks.

There’s a tiny lick of flame curling from her palm.

“Holy fucking shit,” Sokka says.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd just like to point out that my tags say it's an alternate universe and that it's a modern setting. But uh, I didn't specify anything else? :D Hope you like this?? There's something about this chapter that doesn't read quite the way I want it to. Hope you still enjoy it! Thank you as always for reading, leaving kudos, comments, and bookmarking!


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which there is a bathroom, some reveals, and further questions.

“What, never seen fire before?” Azula says snidely at all the shocked faces.

“No! As a matter of fact, they haven’t!” Zuko practically shrieks.

He’s already planning their move to Germany and figuring out how to get fake passports.

“Oh, shit,” Azula says, and she stands up abruptly.

“Zuko!” she screeches. “We need to go _now._ ”

And then they run.

oOo

In hindsight, this probably wasn’t his smartest plan.

But there weren’t that many options with their father still out there, so hiding in the bathroom seemed like a good idea at the time.

He hears a knock at the door, and Azula freezes next to him.

“There’s no one in here!” she says.

Zuko facepalms.

“Really?” Zuko whispers furiously. “No way they don’t know now!”

“Oh, shut up, Zuzu. It’s not like I knew you hadn’t told your little boyfriend about firebending.”

“Why would you assume I would?? We haven’t been dating that long?”

“You’re already attached at the hip! What was I supposed to think?”

“What do you mean what were you supposed to think? How about you think about _not_ pulling fire out of thin air? Have you even told Suki?”

“Of course not! What do you take me for?” Azula scoffs.

“Then why would you think I’d tell Sokka?!”

“Because you open up faster than I do!”

“Not that fast!” Zuko whisper-yells.

“Yes, you-“ Azula starts.

“Azula…come on, we clearly know you’re in there,” Suki says. “Just come out, and we can talk about this.”

“Shhhhhhh!” Azula mutters and slaps a hand over his mouth.

He pushes her hand away.

“Seriously? She obviously knows we’re here.”

“Ugh,” Azula says and then raises her voice and continues, “Talk about what?”

Zuko knows her well enough to know she’s feigning calm.

Suki sighs. “Look, we obviously saw you. So just come out and we can talk? I promise we’re not going to scream or call the police or whatever else you’re worried about.”

“Who do you take me for?” Azula hisses. “I might love you a bit, but even I’m not that stupid.”

“…you love me?” Suki repeats slowly.

“Oh, _shit_ ,” Azula says and covers her face with her hands.

oOo

Evidently, Suki’s giving up, because it seems Katara’s knocking at the door now.

“Hey, are you planning on coming out any time soon? Aang kind of really needs to use the bathroom.”

“Azula,” Zuko whispers. “They know we’re in here. Let’s just go out and deal with this.”

“No!” she yells. “I can’t face Suki again. You go out and bring me a spoon and I’ll tunnel my way out.”

Zuko pinches her.

“Are you or are you not a firebender?”

“I don’t know, Zuko! I think the only thing more suspicious than firebending once is firebending again to blow a hole through the wall!”

“Oh, shut up, Azula.”

“Uh, so you’re definitely planning on staying in there?” Katara asks.

Zuko opens his mouth to respond, but Azula claps her hand over his mouth _again._

So he licks her palm.

“Ugh, Zuzu, how old are you?”

“I don’t want to hear that from you! We’re hiding in a bathroom!” he whispers back.

Then he hears Katara again.

“Alright, I tried the nice way.”

And then as Zuko watches in growing horror, the bathroom door slowly unlocks with a click.

oOo

Sokka’s not really sure what he was expecting when he finally yanks the newly unlocked door open.

But it probably wasn’t Zuko and Azula hugging each other in terror.

“Hey, hey, what’s wrong?” he says, walking closer slowly.

They edge away.

“How did you open the door?!” Azula bites out.

“…I can pick locks?” Sokka says nonchalantly.

“ _What._ ”

oOo

“Look, we’re going to start going through all of your uncle’s teas unless you come stop us,” Aang tries.

“Do it!” Azula yells back. “Uncle loves when people try his tea.”

oOo

“Lover boy is threatening to give you a buzzcut in your sleep, buddy. I’d head out if I were you.”

And yeah, that works. Zuko’s ready to haul Azula up and drag her through the door, but she’s already halfway across the bathroom.

“What? You’d look _terrible_ with a buzzcut. Aang’s the only one who can pull it off,” she says.

Zuko shrugs.

That’s fair.

oOo

Eventually, they coax Azula and Zuko out back into their original seats.

“Look, I don’t know what you think you saw-“ Zuko begins.

“Uh, well, I do,” Sokka cuts him off. “Your sister is a firebender apparently.”

He sees Zuko and Azula turn back towards each other.

“You can stop trying to have a telepathic conversation about this,” Toph laughs. “And no, I don’t have to see you to know you are.”

“Why…why aren’t you-“

“Terrified, afraid we’re hallucinating, calling the cops?” Sokka asks.

“…yeah,” Zuko mutters.

‘Ah…” Sokka says, rubbing the back of his head.

“That would be me,” Katara waves. There’s a stream of water encircling her wrist and running over her fingers in rivulets.

Azula screams.

oOo

“Honestly, Azula,” Suki groans. “How’d you manage to scream so loudly that you pulled open the cut on your head? That’s not even how this is supposed to work.”

“I was obviously very surprised,” Azula sniffs.

“You screamed bloody murder right in my ear,” Zuko whines.

“Oh, shut up, Zuko. You were just as surprised,” Azula says, elbowing him.

He dodges. “Maybe. So Katara…you’re a waterbender? Is that why all of you weren’t surprised?”

“Uh…” Aang responds. “Kind of?”

Toph moves her hand up and the fork sitting on the table bends in half before she straightens it back out.

“There’s metalbending???”

oOo

It takes a few minutes to calm Azula and Zuko down after that stunt.

“She’s one of the best earthbenders around,” Sokka says proudly. “She invented metalbending.”

“I’m sorry. She did _what_?”

oOo

A little while later.

“Okay, so you’re a waterbender, and she’s an earthbender. Any other surprises for us?” Zuko asks.

Aang raises a hand halfheartedly.

“Another one?!” Azula asks.

“Not really?” he says, and he reaches into his pocket.

“No, nope, Aang, we don’t need to see you spin some marbles,” Katara cuts in. “He’s an airbender. And a very good one, too. My brother and Suki aren’t benders, but don’t let that fool you. They can still kick your ass.”

Sokka should probably be flattered that his sister is saying he can actually hold his own, but he’s busy scrutinizing Zuko.

“Babe, you’re a firebender, too. I can sense it,” he blurts out.

“B-babe?” Zuko stammers. “A firebender?”

“As much as I love seeing you flustered. You’re absolutely a firebender. I’m guessing all that martial arts you were talking about was actually firebending.”

“Uh…maybe?” Zuko says.

“Okay, look, I’m going to take a wild guess and say your father is after you both because there aren’t many benders in the world in general. Most people don’t think they exist, like vampires or werewolves.”

Azula seems to have also decided to give up trying to deny it, but she looks at him for a second. He nods slightly.

“We…didn’t know there were any other benders.”

“What, like at all?”

“Yeah,” Zuko adds. “We didn’t even know there were other kinds of bending. Our father just taught us that firebending was the only one that actually existed.”

“Every time I think this man can’t get any more useless, he surprises me,” Sokka says.

Azula barks out a laugh. “You have no idea. We’ve been practicing in secret for awhile, so our control is pretty good. But father thinks we’re maybe several levels lower than that. So he sees potential, but nothing concrete.”

“What does he want with you specifically?” Sokka asks.

“There’s a comet coming,” Zuko says dully. “And on that day, firebenders are supposedly as powerful as they can get.”

“And…” Sokka trails off.

“And he wants to do something evil?” Zuko shrugs. “He never shared his plans with me. I just know he kept saying the Day of the Comet would change everything.”

“He didn’t tell me either,” Azula says. “Rather surprising, but I suppose I wasn’t as trustworthy by that point.”

“Any reason why?”

“Well, I don’t know, Sokka. He tried to burn my brother’s face off, so I may have tried to burn his house down. We sort of weren’t on speaking terms for a little while there, if you couldn’t tell,” Azula says sarcastically.

Sokka chokes on a sip of his tea.

oOo

“Okay, I think we need a break,” Katara says after she finally gets Sokka to stop cursing.

“But what are we going to do about-“

“That’s just going to have to wait,” she cuts Zuko off gently. “We’re all tired, and you’ve both been through a lot today. Let’s just take some time to recharge. Your father probably isn’t going to try anything again so soon, but we can all just hang out here for a while and keep a look out. Do you know when your uncle is due to get back?”

“…it’s going to be a few days at least,” Zuko says quietly.

Sokka looks over at the others. Toph gives him a jaunty salute when Suki nudges her. Suki nods, looking determined. Katara just smiles. Aang looks like Christmas came early.

“We’re going to have a sleepover??” Aang yells.

Katara just sighs.

oOo

They all disperse a bit to get their things in order. Aang and Katara are organizing what they have and what everyone needs.

Suki and Azula disappear for a long overdue chat.

Zuko leads Toph over to an armchair near Aang and Katara.

Toph looks like she’s about to step in and help Katara and Aang talk through some options.

So Sokka has a second to steal away and find Zuko.

oOo

“How are you doing?” Sokka asks, pulling gently on Zuko’s sleeve until they find somewhere to sit down.

“I’m…alright. Might be in shock. A little.”

“Yeah…I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about the bending? It just wasn’t really…”

“-your secret to tell?” Zuko finishes. “Don’t worry about that. I really do get it. I’m not mad or upset you didn’t tell me. I just…kind of have to readjust my whole world view based on basically a five minute interaction.”

“I know,” Sokka says quietly.

“You’re taking the whole firebending thing really well,” Zuko adds. “Even if you thought they were rumors or whatever. The stories aren’t exactly…good.”

Sokka laughs a bit bitterly. “Firebenders killed our mother. We’ve known they’ve been around for a long time.”

He can see the blank look creeping across Zuko’s face.

“Hey, hey, that wasn’t your fault. At all. If your dad had something to do with it, that’s on him. You and Azula had nothing to do with it. None of that bullshit about how I deserve someone better or someone whose family hasn’t hurt my own.”

“But Sokka-“ Zuko starts.

“No. It was a long time ago. You were so young. You definitely didn’t have anything to do with it. Actually, you were probably a bit too busy with this,” Sokka adds, gesturing at his face a bit angrily.

“Sokka, it was a long time ago.”

“Doesn’t matter. I’m going to break his nose.”

oOo

Sokka gives Zuko a quick hug when Azula comes back, and she takes over sitting next to him for now.

He pats her shoulder briefly before moving over to help Katara and Aang. Toph is busy supervising, but so far all they’ve managed to do is apparently acquire various clothes from his closet for everyone to wear.

oOo

“Hey.”

“Hey, yourself,” Sokka says lightly.

It’s a little while later. Long enough that Suki and Azula have found a corner to sleep in.

“I’ve been meaning to ask you something.”

“What’s up?”

“How’s your ankle doing?” Zuko says.

“Um…I kind of forgot about it?” Sokka responds sheepishly.

Zuko does not look pleased.

“You forgot?? Does it hurt? It was turning colors before? And you’ve been walking on it!”

“Hey, relax, I’ve been icing and so on. I think it feels a lot better now, but I still wrapped my ankle before coming over today. I’ll start wearing one of those ankle brace things tomorrow.”

Zuko groans.

“Don’t worry me like that! I’d have to take you to the hospital otherwise, and I hate hospitals.”

“Any particular reason you don’t like them?” Sokka asks curiously, reaching over and grabbing Zuko’s hand. It’s been a long night, so sue him.

Zuko squeezes his hand at the question. “Uh…when I was younger my grandmother told me that if anyone found out about our bending, we’d be experimented on. So I guess I’ve always been paranoid that someone would find out somehow if they started running tests on me.”

“Oh,” Sokka says. “Yeah, that’ll do it.”

“It sucks, because firebending is a part of me, and yet…”

“-you have to hide it every day. You can’t have any slips ups. One time’s enough to destroy you and your entire family.”

“Yeah,” Zuko replies, and Sokka can see he’s getting uncomfortable with the topic.

“Everyone looks like they’re pretty much settled down. You want to also get some sleep?”

“I don’t know if I can,” he hears Zuko murmur.

“Crazy day?” Sokka laughs.

“I don’t know,” Zuko smirks. “I think it was a bit tiring. Just a little.”

“I hear you,” Sokka says, and then he grabs Zuko’s arm. “Let’s take a short nap while Katara and Aang are still up. We can deal with the rest tomorrow.”

They sit down and Zuko pulls Sokka towards him, leaning in to get comfortable.

“Sokka?”

“Yeah,” Sokka replies drowsily.

“Thank you.”

Sokka’s almost asleep by this point, but he’s just awake enough to press a kiss to the back of Zuko’s hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is kind of lots of character interaction and a bit less plot, but I wanted everyone to be more or less on the same page. So, I'm sorry that not much happens in this one! Hope you'll put up with it and enjoy this chapter for now! Also, sorry if there are errors! I'll edit them tomorrow! Thank you for reading and commenting and leaving kudos, and bookmarking this fic! 
> 
> Sidenote, if anyone is able to guess how I'm planning on eventually dealing with Ozai, I'll write a scene of their choice (within reason, but I'm willing to be pretty flexible) to be included at some point in this story! :) Feel free to reach out here on Ao3 (tothetardisandbeyond) or on my tumblr as janedrakey131. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy!


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which there are multiple conversations, some tea, and nightmares.

The gang stay over for the rest of the night, but afterwards, Zuko knows they’re going to start trickling out. There isn’t much more they can sort out today without making a pit stop at their places.

Suki stays a bit longer to talk to Azula for a little while, but Zuko gives them some space.

Toph finds him and elbows him sharply.

“You’re going to have a rough few days, Princess. You ever need to talk, you can call me,” she says, and browbeats him into checking if her number is in his phone.

“Anything you need, Zuko, you call,” she says, and then heads over to the door.

oOo

Suki finishes her goodbyes to Azula, and she comes over to Zuko.

“I know we just met, and I wish we got to spend more time together under better circumstances, but if you need anything at all, please don’t be afraid to ask.”

Zuko nods in thanks. “I’ll remind Azula to let you know how she’s doing.”

“I actually meant I want to know how you’re doing,” Suki laughs. “Azula will talk to me when she’s ready. Which I estimate will be in about a few hours. She’s pretty self-aware about when and how much she can talk. So now, I’m concerned about you.”

“Oh, that’s very kind, but-“ Zuko starts.

“Hey, Azula isn’t the only one who’s dealing with a lot right now. I totally get if you don’t want to talk to me about it, because it’s been a lot, and we don’t really know each other. But sometimes, talking to a stranger is helpful. So I guess what I’m trying to say is you’re always welcome to talk to me, but whether you’d like to or not is totally up to you.”

Zuko opens his mouth to politely refuse, but honestly, he doesn’t have it in him. So he just thanks her, and watches as she nods and walks away.

oOo

Katara and Aang are the last to leave.

They’ve been holed up with Sokka for a little while now, and Zuko’s pretty curious what they’ve been talking about. He doesn’t pry though.

It’s enough that they came by to help.

When they reach him, Zuko feels a bit awkward, but he reaches out for a hug. He’d never admit it, but he’s really happy when they return it with no questions asked.

“Sifu Hotman,” Aang says. “If you need anything at all. Give us a call. We’re not that far away. I can be over here any time.”

“ _We_ can be over any time. It doesn’t have to be just big things either. If you just need someone else to talk to, we’re always here.”

There must be an eyelash in his eye.

Aang takes one look at him and claps him on the shoulder.

“I know things are going to be tough, and Sokka can’t stay over for much longer either. Not without getting some of his things. So figure out what you and Azula need. Distraction or talking, pick one. It’ll be okay. Just sit tight for a couple days. We’ll see you very soon.”

oOo

Everyone warned him.

But it’s been a rough few days.

Azula’s having nightmares. He can hear her get up and pace around the room before getting back in bed.

She still hasn’t told him yet.

He’s trying to not worry and wait until she’s ready. But it’s starting to wear at his nerves. Sokka’s been coming over when he’s able to, but he still has schoolwork he needs to make up.

“I’m so sorry,” he says a day after they found Azula. “I’ll be right back. I just need to finish this assignment.”

“Stop apologizing,” Zuko smiles half-heartedly. “I can’t say I’m happy to see you go, but you’ve got stuff you need to take care of. Go do it, and I’ll see you later.”

Sokka looks like he’s about to say something, so Zuko cuts him off before he can get the words out.

“I know, I know. I’ll call you if I need anything.”

“I was actually going to ask if I can kiss you before I go,” Sokka says, brushing some hair out of Zuko’s eyes.

Zuko huffs, but he kisses Sokka on the cheek.

“Alright, not what I had in mind, but wow, you’re adorable,” Sokka grins.

“Shut up,” Zuko mumbles. “I can’t even remember if I’ve brushed my teeth yet.”

“Fair enough, babe. But I’m demanding at least a hug for the road.”

“…this is an arm thing, isn’t it?” Zuko says suspiciously.

“I mean, yes, but also, you’re really warm.”

“The real reason you’re dating me comes out,” Zuko says playfully.

Sokka looks at him for a second. “You know, I’ve spent a lot of time surrounded by these master benders, and now that I’ve met you and Azula, I know some more. But you always just joke around with me like I’m still someone normal and worthy of your attention.”

“You’re extra worthy of my attention,” Zuko says hotly. “And who cares about being normal? That’s a social construct.”

Sokka just chuckles. “Sometimes, I just really like you, buddy.”

“I know? We’re dating,” Zuko says, sounding confused.

That draws a laugh out of Sokka.

“I think we’ve been through a bit together, man. How would you like to upgrade to my exclusive love interest?”

“I’m sorry, what?” Zuko smirks. “Last time I checked, _you_ were _my_ love interest. But whatever helps you sleep at night.”

“Ugh, you’re taking the romance out of it,” Sokka groans, but he’s cracking a smile.

“Well, I’m sorry your idea of romance is this cheesy,” Zuko says, but he’s wrapping his arms around Sokka’s waist.

“Um, nope, your arms always go around my waist. It’s my turn, you waist hog.”

“…did you just call me a waist hog?” Zuko replies, not moving.

“Just- move- your- arms!” Sokka says, yanking at the offending limbs around his waist.

Zuko just watches him struggle for a second.

“Hmm. Not going too well for you there,” he smirks.

Sokka just sticks his tongue out. “Well, if your arms weren’t so packed with muscle, we wouldn’t be having this issue.”

“You like my arms though,” Zuko points out needlessly.

“I know,” Sokka bemoans. “Ugh, fine, I call next time though.”

Zuko moves his arms finally, grinning.

“Oh, you little shit. Well, you moved, so your waist is mine,” Sokka shrieks, wrapping one arm around the waist in question.

Zuko just pulls Sokka in for a hug, tugging him in by the shoulders.

“Yeah, you weirdo, I’ll be your love interest.”

oOo

A few more days go by, and Uncle’s still not back.

So Zuko opens the tea shop.

The rest of the gang are kind of shocked, but he reasons that he and Azula need something else to keep their minds occupied. He already works there quite regularly. He’s not quite sure when picking up the occasional shift became part time, but he’s not complaining. And Azula already knows how to make most of the teas they sell.

A few days in, it’s actually going pretty well. Customers are happy. The gang have promised to drop by soon.

Things are looking up.

So, of course, that’s when his own nightmares start. He’s not sure why he wasn’t having much of an issue sleeping right after everything went down. His best guess is that he was either too tired or too shocked to process.

Now though, he’s waking up almost every hour on the hour.

He can only remember bits and pieces. Long swirls of fire, pain in his face, an angry hand at his collar, Azula screaming, blood streaming down her face. He tries to reach out to her, and their fingers graze, but he just can’t reach. He shifts a bit closer and he’s able to catch her hand this time. He feels her fingers scrabbling at his palm, leaving long scratches. Her hand is slipping, and then she’s gone. He watches as she slides further and further toward an abyss. Their father is waiting at the bottom, fire wreathed around his hair and encircling his wrists. There’s a triumphant smirk on his face.

He knows Azula knows.

But they’re both busy pretending to be fine.

Until two days after they reopen the tea shop, Azula puts the last mug away after closing.

“So are we going to talk about this?” she asks.

Play dumb, he thinks.

“What’s talking?” he says, and he wants to smack himself.

Not that dumb.

Azula gives him a truly withering look.

“Do you want to try that again?”

“Uh…I wasn’t sure if we were going to?”

“Better. I think we probably should. I don’t know how you’re doing right now, but I’m having nightmares,” she says matter-of-factly.

“Oh, we’re going right into it then,” Zuko replies.

Azula looks faintly amused. “Have we ever really beaten around the bush?”

Zuko remembers gaslighting and favoritism and unhealthy relationships.

She must be able to read his face, because she sighs. “I know. And I really am sorry about how I treated you back then.”

“Sorry,” Zuko mumbles, running a hand down his face. “I don’t mean to be guilt tripping you about it every time we’re trying to have a serious conversation.”

“No, I get it. It’s not like you’re trying to think about it. It just comes up. Your brain does that on it’s own, you know. Your amygdala hijacks your memory when you feel a certain emotion and decides to show you all the memories that made you feel that way- and yeah, sorry, completely not related or something you’d care about…” she trails off.

“Why are you apologizing? I like when you talk about stuff you’re interested in,” Zuko says. “And psych and brain stuff are really cool at any rate, even if they’re not really my thing.”

“…thanks, Zuko.”

He shrugs. “I’m excited that you’re excited. But okay, yeah, I’m also having nightmares.”

He sees her hand fluttering up to the side of her face, but he grabs it before she can poke at the bruises.

“I don’t really know what to do,” Azula admits. “It’s not like the police would believe us. Ozai is a very big name, and he’s probably got half of them in his pockets.”

“I’m not sure,” Zuko says.

“I think our best shot is to just wait it out for a little and plan our next move? I want to know more about this Comet business,” Azula replies.

“Do you need to talk to someone about this?” he asks.

“…eventually. I think I want to talk to you a bit more first. I just…need some time.”

Zuko’s still not the best at the hugging thing, but he thinks he’s read the room correctly this time.

“Whenever you need,” he says, smoothing back her hair.

She punches him in the shoulder. “That goes for you, too.”

He laughs. “Yeah, yeah, we’ll talk things through at some point.”

The words are still quiet, but he definitely didn’t imagine her “Love you, Zuzu.”

Zuko hugs her tighter.

“Love you, Azula.”

oOo

Sokka shows up a bit later.

Azula slides him a mug of black tea steeped with cardamom.

“Oh, that is good,” Sokka says after taking a sip.

“It is, isn’t it? Not my go-to, but sometimes, this is the taste you need.”

He nods back. “I see Zuko’s mug, so I’m assuming you’re both drinking tea together. Where’s he off to?”

“He’s just switching the laundry to the dryer.”

“Oh,” Sokka says.

Azula laughs at the face he makes. “We do some mundane things, too.”

“It’s not all car chases and whatnot?” Sokka says and instantly regrets it. “I’m- I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be so flippant-“

Azula waves his apology away. “I actually appreciate it. Everyone’s treating me like glass. Not intentionally. But sometimes, I see Zuko looking at me like he can’t believe I’m here. And I get it, I really do-“

“-but sometimes, you need someone to just rip off the bandaid and be straight with you.”

“Bit hard to do for us, I know. There’s not much straight about us.”

Sokka throws back his head and laughs.

“I love it. But in all seriousness, if you ever want to talk about this stuff, I’m happy to listen.”

Azula looks at him. She seems to find whatever she’s searching for, because she relaxes. “Thanks, Sokka. It’s just hard, because I don’t actually care about my father.”

“I’m…a little confused,” Sokka says. “If you don’t care-“

“-why does it bother me?” she asks.

“Yeah. Not doubting that it does or saying that it’s not a valid feeling to have, but I’m not sure if I’ve got the whole picture here.”

“I guess it starts with our father burning Zuko. I won’t go into that, because it’s not my story to tell. But I…spent so long before that not listening to him and not believing him when he told me something our father did or said. But this time, it got so bad. I couldn’t take him to the hospital, because firebending is hotter than any kind of fire you’d just have around the house. There’s been a history of firebenders mysteriously disappearing from hospitals without any trace, and even back then, I couldn’t do that to him. Uncle helped us out, and I cut off all contact with my father. He stayed away for a while, which probably had something to do with a suspicious fire at his home. But at some point, he started creeping up again.”

“Was it just the usual manipulation?” Sokka asks.

“I mean, no, not really. It started off as him just ‘checking in.’ He ‘felt terrible about how he’d hurt Zuko,’ but didn’t Zuko know it was an accident?’ Stuff like that. But I was done by that point. It just…took longer to not feel like I needed his approval for everything.”

“It’s hard to change the habits of a lifetime,” he responds.

“It is,” she nods. “I think this is hitting so hard now, because…this is going to sound truly terrible.”

“It’s alright,” Sokka says. “I’m not judging.”

Azula looks like she doesn’t want to keep going, but the words pour out on their own. “I was always his favorite, right? He’d never been quite that violent with me. It’s not that I care about him, but…”

“It’s one thing to know someone’s capable of something and then to see it firsthand.”

She sighs. “Exactly. Honestly, he didn’t even try to use fire, which I thought would’ve been his default after Zuko.”

“Actually, I’m not too surprised by that. He tried using fire last time, and it didn’t just fail to keep you both in line. It bought you a one-way ticket out of the house. So he’s probably being more careful this time. And who knows, maybe people were suspicious of the fire at his home and he needs to stay a little more under the radar this time.”

“That…makes sense,” Azula nods slowly.

“It seems like we’re still missing something though. We know you’re both firebenders and he wants you. But we don’t know for what. So we’re just stuck sitting around and drinking tea until we get more information,” Sokka mutters in annoyance.

“I mean…I could try to find out? Play the good daughter and go crawling back-“

“You try that, and it’ll be over my dead body,” Sokka says with a steely smile.

“It could work-“

“No,” Sokka says firmly. “You’re worth more than that. And even if I was completely fine with risking your safety and sanity, we can’t guarantee we’d get any useful information out of you spying. He wasn’t even inclined to tell you his plan when you were living and working with him more closely. He’s more likely to send you on a wild goose chase to prove your loyalty.”

“…that does sound like him,” she replies.

“I think our best bet is to wait and do some research,” Sokka responds apologetically.

“I think you’re right,” Azula says, reaching over to grab her long-forgotten tea. “You’re surprisingly easy to talk to, lover boy.”

“Only when I have a charming conversationalist such as yourself,” he says.

“Oh, a flatterer, are we? Do continue.”

oOo

Zuko eventually walks over and finds Sokka and Azula chatting.

He’s not sure what to make of this, but they seem rather relaxed in each other’s company, so he just heats his mug briefly and joins them at the table.

There’s so many thoughts fluttering through his brain. But Sokka’s here, Azula’s here, and there’s tea. Sometimes, it’s important to enjoy the little things.

If he’s gripping Sokka’s hand extra tight under the table, Sokka is kind enough not to mention it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kind of...another chapter with lots of talking? It has some conversations I hope you enjoy though! I think I really wanted to show that you can have a lot going on and be totally not doing well, and still have some lighthearted moments? They're not magically getting over this, but I think they needed a break. I'm going to have to leave off finishing editing this chapter and the last for a bit unfortunately, so hopefully there aren't too many errors that really put you off. Thank you for reading and leaving comments, kudos, and bookmarking! I really do appreciate all of you and hope you continue to like this fic!


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which there are old shirts, tacos, and braids.
> 
> Warning: brief, but moderately graphic description of an old injury.
> 
> Also, thank you for 300+ kudos! if you usually skip the notes, you might want to check them out this time for a special scene :)

Azula’s getting used to not having any of her things.

Her brother’s been lovely though. He’s letting her borrow clothes and toiletries and basically anything she could need. She’s in the guest room she normally stays in, but it isn’t _her_ room, and she feels it.

Zuko says they can pick up her stuff soon. He just wants to give their father a few days to fume, potentially trash her place when she doesn’t show, and then move on.

Which honestly is not reassuring at all.

It starts to get a bit better though.

She notices that Zuko still prefers to spend most of his time in the tea shop. The gang is making an effort to never leave them alone for too long unless they ask for space. And she sees how much better Zuko is when he’s surrounded by Aang asking him trivia questions about penguins and Katara lounging next to him, making the tea swirl in pretty patterns with the twitch of a finger.

One day, they’re crowding around Zuko while he’s making tea. She doesn’t want to interrupt them, but Katara makes eye contact with her over Zuko’s shoulder and raises her eyebrow.

Azula quickly gets the hint and leans on the counter next to the other girl.

Aang winks at her from around his girlfriend and asks if he can French braid her hair.

No one other than Suki has touched her hair in a long time. But she nods anyway.

To her delight, the end result is _amazing_. She thanks Aang profusely.

He waves away her thanks with a smile, but he asks if she’d like a picture of the finished braid.

She hesitates a second, but sends the picture along to Suki.

Later that day, she gets a response.

_2:30 PM Holy shit, you look beautiful <3_

Smiling is a lot easier for the rest of the day.

oOo

Zuko, she’s discovered with glee, has a habit of dancing around the kitchen when he’s cooking by himself.

Azula slinks away when she sees, but not before collecting evidence.

oOo

She’s still having nightmares.

They’re not as centered around her father and that night.

She thinks she might actually be able to handle that better.

Instead, Azula sees herself find Zuko collapsed on the floor of their father’s home. The left side of his face is blistered and bleeding. She thinks there might even be skin sloughing off.

It’s just a dream, but she can feel the heat radiating from him when she collapses to her knees.

It’s all flashes after that. She’s frantically trying to find a pulse, screaming her brother’s name, and struggling to stop her own hands from shaking. There's fire everywhere.

One moment later, she’s managed to drag Zuko to her car. The next, she’s pulling him from the passenger’s seat and screaming for Iroh to help them into the tea shop.

She usually wakes up before her arms almost give out trying to carry him to the door by herself.

oOo

Azula thinks that having Suki around should be more awkward than it is.

She knows she accidentally told Suki she loves her. Suki hasn’t really responded. It’s never been the right time, and every time she looks like she’s about to say something, Azula finds a way to change the subject.

It isn’t hard. Suki has to leave eventually, and their brief conversations until that point have been mostly stolen moments of whispered “I’m glad you’re okay” and “I’m so happy to see you.”

Azula’s willing to admit even after they open the tea shop, even when they definitely have time for a conversation, she’s the one who actively avoids it.

oOo

Suki’s not really one to avoid a conversation though. So Azula isn’t surprised when Suki corners her later the next day.

“How’s your day going?” her girlfriend asks.

Azula just sighs from where she’s kneeling to grab some more supplies from the back. She stands in resignation and dusts her hands off slowly.

“Normally, I adore your willingness to indulge me in small talk, Suki. But would you mind if we cut to the chase today? I know you heard me the other day.”

“…were you ever going to tell me?” Suki asks finally.

“Probably not for a while,” Azula admits.

“Are you still worrying about it?”

Azula laughs sarcastically. “No, not at all. Why would I be worried about accidentally telling my girlfriend I love her, and then not having the time to address it?”

“You’ve been avoiding me even though we have time now though,” Suki muses.

“I don’t know how you feel, Suki. I’m not going to be offended if you don’t say it back. I know you really care about me, and that’s more than enough. I just don’t want to make you feel bad either-“

“Would it help,” Suki cuts her off, “if I said I’ve been crazy about you for a while now?”

“Yeah?” Azula says, and she can feel a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.

“Yeah,” Suki replies, breaking into a grin. “I kind of love you a little bit, too.”

“Oh, shut up,“ Azula laughs as Suki pulls the supplies she’s holding from her hands and neatly stacks them next to her.

“What-“ Azula starts, but she’s interrupted by Suki slowly walking forward into her space until her back is against a shelf.

“You know,” Suki says offhandedly as she moves closer. “There’s a part of me that still can’t quite believe you’re here in front of me right now.”

Azula’s a bit preoccupied with the hands untucking Zuko’s old shirt from her belt, but she manages to say, “Anything I can do to help with that?”

“I can think of a few things,” Suki replies.

oOo

It’s not like they were planning on having sex in the back room, but Azula thinks a bit of making out after a traumatic experience isn’t too much to ask for.

So of course, they’re interrupted.

“Hey, Azula! You got those extra cups we need?” they hear Zuko shout from the front.

Azula sighs and leans her forehead on Suki’s shoulder.

“I’m not okay, you know,” she says.

“I know,” Suki responds, gently untangling her fingers from Azula’s hair.

“And there’s a million things we still need to talk about,” Azula continues.

“I know,” Suki says simply.

“And I’m probably drowning in these clothes. They’re hideous.”

“Just a bit,” Suki laughs.

“But I’m still getting you into bed as soon as possible,” Azula smirks.

Suki just grins and kisses her again.

oOo

Zuko eventually gets used to having Azula living with him.

It’s not exactly hard. He’s a bit more tidy than she is, but she keeps whatever minimal mess she has contained in what’s quickly become her room.

Zuko’s actually kind of enjoying having some quality time with her.

oOo

They spend most mornings opening the tea shop. One of them usually has to go to class and the other mans the shop. Sokka pops in after class and usually drags Katara or Aang with him. The two of them take turns at the cash register if the tea shop is particularly busy.

Sokka’s taken to managing the books. It’s not like Uncle will care, because this isn’t a source of income he needs. But Zuko knows that this tea shop is important, so he takes the offered help with the numbers. If they can just stay financially stable until Uncle comes back, he’ll be happy.

Suki’s in and out pretty regularly as well, but she’s usually the one doing supply runs. She has this scary talent of keeping track of everything they’re running low on and making sure they never run out.

Toph also comes by just to hang out with the rest of the gang. She’ll sit around making snarky comments, and Zuko knows that she’s trying to keep their minds off of things. He’s pretty sure some customers are returning just to listen to her roasting her friends.

Zuko’s just happy that so many of his new friends are stopping by.

oOo

The gang refuses payment for all their help, so Zuko starts making them gallons of tea throughout the day.

Most of them are experimental blends. Since he has some help, he has more time to mess around with mixing teas and developing his own. He admits some are better than others, but he’s having a surprisingly good time with it. It keeps his mind off other things for now. He knows eventually, he’ll have to deal with all the emotions and fears, but right now, he’s happy to be making tea alongside everyone else.

He still spends a lot of time with Sokka, but he’s trying to make time to get to know everyone else. Making tea is usually his alone time though. Sometimes, Azula will sit with him, because she also got used to seeing Uncle puttering around the kitchen. The song he hums under his breath is also a reminder of Uncle. Zuko secretly thinks his sister just wants one steady thing in her life, but he doesn’t bring it up.

So he hums the little songs and lets her help him sometimes.

After the third time she almost blows up a teapot, he just has her watch.

oOo

The only thing he’s not used to is the singing.

Azula, he’s discovered, has picked up the habit of singing in the shower.

Loudly.

And badly.

He doesn’t get it. He knows she’s actually good at singing. It’s not like their father would’ve let her be anything else. Some garbage about being a refined lady or some shit.

Zuko doesn’t ask her about it. It’s not that big of a deal. Her showers are actually pretty fast, and he thinks that it’s secretly another small way for her to rebel against their father and all of his rules. After a couple days, he sings really loudly when he’s taking a shower.

Azula, to her credit, makes eye contact defiantly. But to Zuko’s amusement, the singing does become a little quieter.

oOo

“We are having a date,” Sokka says, pointing at the floor.

“Here?” Zuko asks incredulously.

“Right here, right now,” Sokka responds emphatically.

“In the bathroom?” Zuko raises an eyebrow.

“No, not in the bathroom, Zuko,” Sokka rolls his eyes.

“Well, what was I supposed to think? You just followed me when I was going to wash my hands and just hovered ominously until I came back out.”

“Not the point! We’re having a date!”

“Now?”

“No, not now! I mean, in general. Soon.”

“Okay, sure,” Zuko says.

“I know, it’s not the best time, and you’ve still got a lot going- wait, really?”

“Yeah,” Zuko smirks. “But you’re going to help me make tacos.”

oOo

“You know the filling goes _in_ the taco, right?” Zuko says, trying to pull some out of Sokka’s hair.

“Ow, _ow_ , OW. Okay, new plan, can I just take a shower or something?” Sokka asks after enduring Zuko’s yanking.

“Yeah, I think that’s your best bet. Let me get you a towel and some clothes.”

oOo

It’s a little while later, and Zuko’s finally finished making the tacos.

Surprise, surprise. It goes a lot smoother without Sokka trying to stuff extra tortillas into his back pocket “for a late night snack!”

He hears Sokka coming back down the stairs.

“Hey, you wouldn’t happen to have any hair ties, would you?” Sokka asks when he nears the bottom.

“Yeah, sure, I can grab you one,” Zuko responds, turning around.

He glances at Sokka and proceeds to ram his hip into the counter.

His eyes are watering, and there’s probably a few tears dripping down his face.

But….Sokka’s hair is down.

And holy fucking shit.

oOo

“What? Is there something on my face?”

“Uh…nope, nope, nothing at all,” Zuko gulps. And then he gives up. They’re already dating, so it’s not like there’s anyone to embarrass himself in front of.

So he walks right up to Sokka and pushes some hair out of his eyes.

“Was anyone planning on telling me that you look insanely good with your hair down? Or was I just supposed to accidentally find out?”

Sokka blushes.

“Whoa, there,” he says. “Keep going like that, and someone might think you like me or something.”

“Sokka,” Zuko says patiently. “We’ve already established you’re _my_ love interest, and you look really hot with your hair down.”

“… _my_ love interest,” Sokka mutters under his breath.

Zuko looks innocent. “That’s what I said.”

Sokka huffs, but glances over at Zuko.

“…you really like it?” he eventually asks.

Zuko’s busy playing with the ends, and he raises an eyebrow.

“What does it look like?”

“I don’t know! Maybe you just like playing with hair!”

Zuko laughs. “Buddy, I like playing with _your_ hair.”

“Ugh, and you call me the sappy one. You sound like you’re right out of a rom-com.”

“It’s okay,” Zuko replies, leaning in slowly. “We can’t all be the charming ones.”

“What!” Sokka shrieks, poking him in the forehead to push him away. “Do you want to try that again?”

“Oh, right, my bad. I should’ve specified. I’m clearly the charming one.”

“Excuse me, what!” Sokka says, poking him again. “I’m the charming one! You’re- you’re the sidekick!”

“Does the sidekick get to do this?” Zuko asks, pulling Sokka’s hand out of his face and leaning in for a kiss.

oOo

Sometime later, Sokka says, “No, actually. The sidekick doesn’t get to. But..uh, the partner might?”

“Are we in a western right now? Do I need to dust off my cowboy boots?”

Sokka decides to kiss the stupid smirk off his face.

Zuko gets a handful of hair and tugs.

Sokka is apparently _very_ into that.

He snakes his cold hands under Zuko’s shirt in retaliation. Sokka takes a little too much satisfaction in the startled gasp Zuko lets out before the other boy laughs and pulls him closer.

oOo

A day later, Sokka is suspicious. It’s too quiet. Iroh’s still not back, and they haven’t gotten any word from him.

“I don’t like it,” he says, taking a large sip of his tea and immediately burning his tongue.

“Just because we don’t like it, doesn’t mean the two are connected,” Katara says reasonably. “It’s not like Iroh knows what’s going on, so he could just be out of the country.”

“Hmm,” Sokka says in acknowledgement, trying to find a way to blow on his steaming tongue.

But he’s not convinced.

oOo

It’s not until another week goes by that the rest of the gang starts to get worried.

It’s been a little over a week since the Incident.

Toph calls it “The Fucking Night that Fucking Fucker Tried to Fucking Pull His Fucking Fuckery.”

It’s a bit too long to say, and TFNTFFTTFPHFF doesn’t really roll off the tongue either.

Sokka tries to say it a few times, but he just sounds like he’s spitting. He keeps it up for a little while, because Aang just starts howling with laughter whenever he does. He also definitely sees Zuko and Azula crack a smile out of the corner of his eye.

oOo

“Okay, I think we need a meeting,” Sokka says.

“Yeah, I agree. It’s been a little too long, and now it’s a bit suspicious,” Katara replies over the phone. “It’s a little too weird that right when we might actually need your uncle, Zuko, he’s gone.”

They’re on speaker right now, so Zuko hums in acknowledgement. “I don’t think he told me where he was headed either, which kind of makes this all more suspicious.”

“It’s just a little too convenient,” Sokka says. “And way too convenient for your father. The one resource you could really benefit from and we have no way of contacting him.”

“Maybe that’s why my father was so smug when he brough up Uncle that night? Not just about the Lu Ten stuff, but maybe he also knows something we don’t or about where Uncle is?” Zuko speculates.

“But really? He just tried to kidnap Azula. Would he really go after Iroh?” Katara asks.

“I mean, sure. It’s not like he had to kidnap him. He has influence and shit. He could just delay Iroh wherever he is. Like what if your uncle is the only one who can tell us about the Comet?” Sokka asks.

“…maybe,” Zuko hedges.

“When was the last time you saw him?”

“…I actually didn’t even see Uncle before he left. He was off doing some business, and he sent me a text saying he was going to be out for a few days. I’ve tried calling him since, but it just goes to voicemail.”

“…are you sure he sent the text?” Katara asks.

“…I mean, it was his phone number?” Zuko says.

“I think…” Sokka starts slowly. “We need to start working under the assumption that Iroh is MIA and your father might have something to do with it.”

The grip on Zuko’s hand tightens, but he barely feels it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As one lovely reader reminded me, this fic is character driven, so these last few chapters aren't filler chapters and they allow me to establish relationships and show character growth :) Hope you enjoy another chapter of mainly character interaction! Azula snuck in here and dragged Suki along as well. Hope this doesn't feel too choppy or OOC. I think the point is that none of them are at their best right now, and they're just trying to return to some semblance of stability. Thank you all for reading! I also appreciate all the kudos, comments, and bookmarks! Hope you continue to enjoy this fic!
> 
> Also, thank you for 300+ kudos!!! You're all wonderful, and I'm so happy you're reading this! <3
> 
> Please enjoy this short scene:
> 
> Sokka: 300+ kudos???
> 
> Zuko: Thank you for reading this story! *drops note cards* It’s so…nice that you like…us?
> 
> Sokka: What my partner means to say is it’s fucking awesome that you’re enjoying this! But it’s all thanks to you. So continue being your badass selves *finger guns*
> 
> Zuko: I think you think you’re cooler than you actually are.
> 
> Sokka: *fake laughter* HAHAHA, isn’t my dude SO funny.
> 
> Zuko: Funnier than you, buddy.
> 
> Sokka: That’s it! I’m not making you sushi tonight!
> 
> Zuko: Good! I wasn’t looking forward to your latest dose of food poisoning anyway!
> 
> Sokka: I thought you liked my sushi!
> 
> Zuko: No, I like you! So I put up with your sushi!
> 
> Sokka: Aw, babe.
> 
> Zuko: *looks uncomfortable* What?
> 
> Sokka: *all smiles* Sometimes, you’re just so cute.
> 
> Zuko: I’m NOT cute!
> 
> Sokka: Yeah, yeah, Zuzu.
> 
> Zuko: Ugh, anyway, thank you everyone! Hope you continue to enjoy this fic!
> 
> Sokka: Yeah! And please take care of yourselves during these difficult times!
> 
> Zuko: I was getting to that part!
> 
> Sokka: Look, we can keep arguing about this, but we could’ve spent the last five minutes making out. Your choice.
> 
> Zuko: …fine, but I’m making the sushi tonight.
> 
> Sokka: Deal.
> 
> Zuko: Alright. Anyway, love you all-
> 
> Sokka: and hope you continue to enjoy this fic!


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which there is The Mummy (if you haven't seen it, you only really need to know that the entire cast is insanely attractive), a new pov, and phone calls, not necessarily in this order.
> 
> Warning: an injury, not graphically depicted, unless mentions of blood bother you. 
> 
> This chapter will be a little rough. But trust me.

It’s been a couple days since their meeting.

There’s still no word from Iroh. No indication of where he might be.

Sokka is slowly growing accustomed to the uncomfortable burn of unease.

oOo

Azula supposes she’s doing as well as can be expected.

Her hands aren’t shaking as much, but the nightmares seem to be growing worse.

She sees her father smirking at her, asking her how her new little friends could possibly protect her.

The day she wakes up with small scorch marks on the sheets is the day she talks to Zuko.

oOo

“Do you have a moment?” Zuko hears from behind him.

He’s just locked the front door of the tea shop, so he turns and smiles at his sister.

“Sure. What’s up?” he says.

“I think I’m terrified of our father coming after you next,” she blurts out.

Zuko looks at her for a second.

“Is this about the nightmares?” he asks.

She sighs and drags him over to a comfortable seat.

“Yes? And no? Both,” she finally manages.

Zuko is channeling all the deduction skills he has honed from talking to Sokka.

“I have no idea what that means,” he eventually mutters ruefully.

Azula lets out a short laugh. “I can’t really blame you. I guess…okay, it’s like this. On the one hand, I keep dreaming about him coming after me in that apartment, right? But I also keep dreaming about when I found you…a while ago.”

“Ah,” Zuko responds, leaning over to rest his elbows on his knees.

“It’s different now. Sometimes…sometimes, I can’t get you out. And I’ve accidentally set the room on fire…and then I’ll find myself outside, but you’re not with me. Zuko…” she trails off.

He looks over at her.

“If it was just about our father trying to kidnap me…”

“This is just as important,” Zuko cuts in.

Azula shakes her head.

“No…no, it’s not about the nightmares. I know they’re not real, and I’m slowly dealing with them. But especially because we don’t know where Uncle is, I think I need to tell you how scared I am that you’re going to disappear, too.”

Zuko lets the words hang in the air for a moment before he blows out a breath.

“I can’t promise I’m always going to be here,” he starts. “You know as well as I do that sometimes life just doesn’t work out like that. But I can promise you that I’m going to be here as long as I can.”

He can feel Azula looking at him.

“I’ll take it,” she says eventually.

Zuko sighs and reaches out a hand.

“Do you want some tea?” he asks.

Azula huffs, but she takes his hand. “You know tea doesn’t fix everything, right?”

Zuko smirks. “When we find Uncle, I’m going to tell him you said that.”

“No!” she says in mock horror. “He’ll drown me in tea!”

He looks back at her expectantly.

“…but he can’t if we drink it all first!” she finishes with glee.

oOo

Later that night, Zuko can confidently say this was a terrible plan.

It’s well past midnight and the caffeine isn’t wearing off any time soon.

It’s that strange hour where simple conversations are complicated, but deep ones make too much sense.

oOo

“The Mummy, good movie or bad?”

“Good, obviously,” Zuko responds instantaneously.

“Oh, good,” Azula says. “If you didn’t understand the utter agony of being bisexual and watching that movie…”

“-then what’s the point?” Zuko says.

oOo

“What kind of ice cream are you?” Zuko asks.

“Think of the richest kind of chocolate you can, okay?” Azula says. “Are you thinking about it?”

“Yep,” Zuko responds. “Super dark chocolate, right?”

“Yes. Now think even darker than that. 100% cacao,” she says.

Zuko stares at her.

“Why’d you have to steal my ice cream?” he says in annoyance.

“How are you extra dark chocolate?” she laughs. “You’re like cookie dough. You seem kind of boring at first, but then you surprise people.”

“Thanks,” Zuko says dryly.

oOo

“Do you think we’d ever be this close if it weren’t for…you know?” Azula says.

“The day he tried to burn my face off?” Zuko fills in.

Azula looks like she wants to wince, but she just nods.

“Probably not,” he says honestly. “But I can’t say for sure. At some point, something else would’ve happened, and who knows?”

Azula seems to think this over.

“I’d like to think that we would’ve gotten here eventually,” she replies, tilting her neck back to look at the ceiling.

Zuko just hums in acknowledgement.

A few minutes later, he looks over and Azula’s asleep.

He pokes her cheek, but she just bats his hand away. He sighs and carries her upstairs.

oOo

“What the hell, Azula?” he whispers.

But he changes the sheets without too much complaint.

oOo

“Hey, Sokka!” Aang says exuberantly when he walks in the day after.

Sokka just waves a pencil in his friend’s direction. He’s got two laptops open, a sheaf of papers splayed out across the counter, and a pen between his teeth. His phone is clenched between his ear and shoulder, and he’s furiously muttering into it.

Aang just tiptoes around him towards Zuko and Azula.

“Has he been like this all morning?” he asks, nodding in Sokka’s direction.

“I’d say he’s calmed down a bit,” Azula replies in amusement.

“Any idea what he’s working on?” Aang asks.

“No clue,” Zuko grumbles. “He kicked me out and told me to go buy him _coffee._ ”

“Oh, this is bad,” Aang says, fighting back laughter. “Tell you what, you keep an eye on him. Azula and I will head to the back and get everything squared away for the day. Sound good?”

Zuko doesn’t take his eyes off Sokka, but he nods. “Thanks.”

“Sure thing,” Aang says easily, winking at Azula.

Azula just smirks as she leads the way to the back.

“Just shout if you need us, Zuko,” she tosses over her shoulder.

“Uh huh,” he says.

oOo

“How are you?” Aang asks.

Azula doesn’t really know what to expect. She hasn’t talked to this boy very much.

She tries a noncommittal answer.

“Oh…fine, I suppose.”

She watches the boy’s mouth settle into a grim line.

“Are you talking to anyone about what happened?”

“I’ve…mentioned some of the nightmares to Zuko,” she finds herself admitting.

Aang frowns.

“Don’t wait too long to talk about this kind of stuff. In the beginning, you need space. But too much space can lead to festering. It’s ultimately your decision, but don’t forget that you have people who actually want to listen to you.”

Azula’s a little taken aback, but she nods.

Aang smiles.

“It’ll get better,” he says before grabbing some supplies and walking back to the counter.

Azula just stands there for a second. Is he really the same boy who gushed about penguins the other day?

oOo

She’s just about to head back when Sokka bursts into the back room.

“What’s your brother’s opinion on knitting?” Sokka asks abruptly.

“I’m pretty sure I learned when we were younger, but I doubt Zuko ever tried,” Azula responds hesitantly, watching him lean against the doorframe.

“Hmm,” he says.

Then he spins around and leaves.

Azula resigns herself. It’s just one of those days.

oOo

Sometime later, Sokka’s been working at the counter for hours. The customers have been edging away from him once they collect their drinks.

Zuko almost wants to ask Sokka to move, but he’s reasonably sure that the other boy needs the space. Most of the other tables in the tea shop aren’t quite big enough for the sheer amount of stuff he’s accumulated. There are even more papers than before and what look to be three separate maps.

He doesn’t even know where you go to get paper maps.

It’s nearing a full seven hours before Sokka closes one of the laptops.

“I found him.”

oOo

Sokka’s dehydrated.

He probably looks like he needs a nap. He doesn’t care.

Azula appears at his elbow with a warm mug of tea. He’s a little too tired to shriek, so he just gives her a grateful look and accepts the tea.

She grins.

Zuko and Aang join them in a second.

“You found Uncle?” Zuko asks hopefully.

Sokka stretches his arms above his head. “Sort of.”

“Sort of?” Azula says, brushing her hair out of her face. “How do you sort of find him?”

“I’ve got five places he could possibly be in, not including your father’s home.”

“We should start looking now then!” Zuko replies. “I can get the car-“

“Hold your horses, buddy,” Sokka says, reaching out and grabbing Zuko’s shirt. “We have to be smart about this. Most of these places are old apartment buildings or warehouses your father owns. I don’t want to bumble into one, whether it’s right or not, and have your father find out.”

“He could move Uncle then,” Azula nods.

“Yeah. And then either he’ll pick a new place we have no chance of finding-“

“-or it’ll be his house,” Zuko finishes.

“Yup,” Sokka says. “And I don’t think I have to tell you how hard it’ll be to break into his house.”

oOo

It’s late enough that Sokka makes the executive decision to postpone looking for Iroh until the next day.

Zuko looks like he’s about to protest, but Azula glares at him until he closes his mouth.

She motions for Sokka to continue.

“Okay, in case he’s watching the tea shop, I don’t want us to have a big meeting where we all pile in. We’ll call everyone, tell them where they’re going, and we’ll check it out tomorrow.”

“We’re splitting up then?” Zuko asks.

“I think it makes the most sense,” Sokka says. “I’m not super crazy about the idea, but I think we need teams. Zuko, you’ll go with Suki and Aang. Azula, you and Katara are going to be together. And Toph is with me. That sound okay with all of you?”

“Sounds good,” Aang responds.

“You have questions, concerns, something doesn’t feel right, you call me.”

oOo

“How’d you figure out where Iroh is?” Toph asks him the next day.

“I cross-referenced properties Ozai owns with recent shipments to those locations. I also crossed off places that were in super busy locations and anywhere that would be hard to smuggle a person in. I was looking for small shipments. Like a pack of water bottles, catering, that sort of thing,” Sokka starts rattling off.

“Did it work?”

“Nope. Didn’t find anything. I started calling grocery stores in the area looking for people coming in to buy cheap meals. And then started hacking security cameras until I found people with those descriptions entering and leaving a location near meal times. It’s not exact, and I’m not sure if it’ll work. But I’m pretty sure.”

“I’ll take your pretty sure over most people’s 100%.”

“Thanks, Toph,” Sokka says. “I just hope we make it in time.”

oOo

_5:17 PM No one here either. Checked all the rooms._

Sokka sighs in frustration.

“Katara said they didn’t find anything at their second spot either. And we haven’t seen anyone in this place or the last. Maybe I got this completely wrong-“

“I think your phone is ringing?” Toph interrupts.

Sokka sees Suki’s name and hits accept.

oOo

He hears yelling and the sounds of gunshots over the phone.

“Sokka, it’s not good. They were totally expecting us. I’m guessing someone accidentally tripped an alarm at one of the other places? I’m going to try to lose them again once we’re all finally back in the car. Aang’s- oh, _shit._ ”

“Suki, are they shooting at-” Sokka starts.

“Zuko!” he hears.

“Uncle!” Zuko yells, and Sokka hears pounding footsteps.

The car’s already pealing away. He can hear tires screeching. There’s the sounds of ragged breathing, and even Aang’s steady voice sounds strained.

“We can’t get him now. Come back to the car, Zuko.”

Sokka hears Aang muttering more soothing words. Then the sound of a car door closing.

“Sokka’s on the phone, Zuko,” Suki says.

Sokka hears a phone exchanging hands.

“Zuko?”

“I lost him. Uncle…he was right there. And I couldn’t _do_ anything-“

“Zuko,” Sokka says urgently. “It wasn’t your fault-“

“It never is, is it?” Zuko laughs bitterly. “I just can’t quite manage to do anything at all.”

“Zuko…”

“I’ll talk to you later, Sokka,” Zuko mutters. “Suki, can you take us back?”

“Of course.”

oOo

Those children found him.

Oh, they might have been too late to actually rescue him, but they still found their precious tea shop owner. Luckily, he’d seen them entering a different location and knew to move the man.

Still. Quite impressive.

He swirls his wine glass and takes a small sip.

It might be time to pay a visit to his brother.

oOo

“My older brother,” he says distastefully. “How are you finding your new accommodations?”

“The bed is lumpy, and your tea is unfortunately just hot leaf juice,” the other replies.

“Well, I’m certainly not trying to make you comfortable,” he responds.

“Then I would have to have to say, you have succeeded admirably,” his brother says pleasantly.

“Oh, do shut up,” he snarls back.

“You came here and started talking to me. I was merely being polite. Tea?”

“Never mind the tea,” he says, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Tell me about those children.”

“Which children? You mean Zuko and Azula? You can’t tell me you’ve already forgotten-“

“No, not those children!” he says in frustration. “The other ones. The ones who hang about your establishment.”

“I don’t know many other children, younger brother. You’ll have to be more specific if you want me to be of any help-“

“Never mind,” Ozai says, and he slams the door on the way out.

oOo

It’s a bit inconvenient that his brother refused to give him information on their little friends. But it’s not the end of the world. It doesn’t even matter that much.

They don’t know any more about the Comet than they did before.

They’re just meddling kids. What harm could they possibly do?

It’s not like they have the Avatar with them.

oOo

Sokka and Toph are the first ones back to the tea shop.

He lets them in and sinks down in a chair.

“How am I going to look Zuko in the face, Toph? I knew they could have alarms or cameras, or something, but I didn’t-“

“It’s not your fault, lover boy. Zuko was stressed and probably really frustrated. Once he has a second to think, he’s not going to blame you.”

Sokka yanks the hair tie out of his hair.

“I know that. But I don’t want him to sit there blaming himself either,” he says, frustration coloring his voice.

Toph pats him on the shoulder. “You can’t control how he’s going to react, bro. You’ll just have to be there for him as best you can. We’re going to get Iroh back. Just not right this second.”

Sokka sighs. “Yeah.”

oOo

“Zuko!” he hears Azula say as he races in.

He whips his head around, scanning the tea shop.

He sees Katara, Toph…and then his eyes settle on Sokka.

Sokka looks up at him slowly.

“Listen…Zuko, I’m so-“

“If you apologize to me,” Zuko says, voice hoarse, “I’m never kissing you again.”

“Well, that’s just uncalled for,” Sokka says, but his lips are twitching. “Are we…okay?”

“…yeah,” Zuko says. “I am so fucking done. I’ve never been this mad at myself. But we’re fine. And I’d really like a hug.”

Sokka’s already there, wrapping his arms around him.

Zuko makes eye contact with Azula for a second before he closes his eyes.

oOo

“I need some help over here!” Suki shouts.

Zuko’s eyes snap open.

He’s pulling away from Sokka long enough to see the girl struggling through the door, supporting Aang.

Aang does not look good. He has one hand pressed to his side and the other to his chest. There’s blood everywhere. He moves a hand hesitantly, but Suki slams one of own her hands down in its place. Aang groans loudly. It’s still not enough pressure though. Even Zuko can see the blood oozing out of the wound from underneath her fingers.

“Did- did you get shot?” Katara shrieks from behind them, pushing her way towards him.

Aang grits his teeth. “Couple times? Kind of lost count.”

“Just…just come over here,” Katara says frantically. “Someone get me a bucket of water or something.”

oOo

A good hour later.

There’s no pulse.

They’re taking turns doing CPR. Sokka’s arms are starting to hurt.

A few more seconds.

Katara just keeps waterbending at a steady pace, trying to heal the damage.

oOo

“We’ve got a pulse!” Toph yells.

oOo

A couple hours later.

“I’ve done almost all I can do,” Katara says, wiping some sweat off her forehead.

“Now we wait.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry! I was actually going to end the chapter after "no pulse." I thought that might be a little mean. Just...trust me. I know this is really, really far away from the cute tea shop au I started writing, so I hope you still enjoy this. I promise this fic will have a happy ending eventually. I also just want to add that this isn’t how tea shops, tracking down people, or literally anything works. But I’m just writing a fic for fun, so I apologize for gross inaccuracy. Anyway, thank you for reading! As always, I really appreciate the kudos, comments, and bookmarks :)


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which there are a couple new povs, some explanations, and some nonsense.

Aang opens his eyes to mist.

He screeches.

Avatar Roku’s dragon is a few inches away from his nose. He swears the dragon is perpetually grinning at him.

To his left stands Avatar Roku, and he does not look impressed.

“Why are you here?” Roku asks, furrowing his eyebrows.

“Where is here?” Aang says.

“The spirit world, of course. You should not be here.”

“I mean, someone did just shoot me…multiple times.”

“They did _what_.”

oOo

“So let me get this straight…I’m technically not the Avatar, because I haven’t mastered all of the elements. But I’m also technically the Avatar, and I technically died-“ Aang starts.

“Your heart stopped- briefly, but it stopped.”

“For maybe thirty seconds?? That counts?”

The mist is thick and dark. He and Roku are sitting on a mountain peak in the middle of nowhere. Somewhere in the distance is the sound of thunder.

“Unfortunately, dead is dead,” Roku responds.

“So who’s the new Avatar?”

“You will find out in due time. Perhaps, it is someone you already know.”

“Isn’t it supposed to be a baby? I don’t know any babies.”

“It seems you not learning anything about anything has impacted the cycle,” Roku says testily. “The new Avatar, lucky for you, is definitely not a baby.”

“You can’t tell me any more than that?”

“No.”

The thunder is coming from even closer this time. Aang can feel the ground shake under him.

“Well, that’s not helpful. But what about me? Am I also the Avatar?” Aang looks over at Roku.

“Yes and no. You are able to master the elements individually, but you will not be able to use the Avatar state.”

“Well, what use is that?” Aang asks, swinging a leg back and forth.

The thunder is almost on top of them.

“You cannot think of anything useful to do with all of the elements at your disposal?” Roku says, raising an eyebrow.

“Fair point,” Aang says, squinting where the horizon should be to look for lightning.

“Our time is almost up,” Roku says abruptly, and thunder immediately peals over their heads.

“Wait, wait, but who are we fighting? Half the reason I never mastered the other elements is because there was no one to fight.”

“You have already found the Phoenix King, Aang,” Roku says as he slowly disappears.

“Who?” Aang yells. “Roku, wait!”

Roku simply points as he vanishes.

Aang follows his finger and sees an image of a tall man with long hair in the distance. There’s fire spiraling from his fingers. The brief glimpse of a profile looks remarkably like Zuko.

“Oh, come _on_. Are there any coincidences anymore?”

Aang sighs, but he waves at Avatar Roku’s dragon once before he closes his eyes.

oOo

He keeps his eyes closed, but he takes a deep breath in and- _ow._

At least he’s alive.

Aang opens his eyes.

Sokka’s sitting next to him. At some point, the other boy stole his pillow. So much for making the injured comfortable, but Aang just smiles and reaches out a hand.

Sokka jolts awake at his touch.

He blinks at Aang briefly until his brain catches up.

“Katara!” he bellows right in Aang’s ear.

oOo

The hugging and the crying are winding down.

Zuko stays far away. He doesn’t know Aang as well as Sokka or Katara, and he feels like he’d be intruding. So he sits off to the side with Azula, trying not to look as discomfited as he feels.

He doesn’t have long to wait before Sokka beckons him over.

Zuko looks around, but Sokka just waves him down more vigorously.

“Get over here,” he hisses. “No, stop looking around, Zuko. I obviously mean you. Aang wants to talk to you.”

Zuko really doesn’t want to, but he eventually makes his way over.

Aang looks…much better actually.

“Hey, Zuko,” he says, voice sounding slightly raspy.

“Aang,” Zuko starts, and then the words all come flooding out. “I’m so, so sorry- I didn’t even _notice_ -“

“Shut up, Zuko,” Aang cuts him off with a smile. “I don’t blame you. You were stressed and frustrated. Your uncle just disappeared in front of your eyes. I’m sorry I had to stop you-“

“No, no, I would’ve just gotten myself killed, so…thank you. It was hard, but we have a chance of getting him back now.”

Aang looks at him, and the determination surprises him. “Yeah, we _are_ going to get him back. Your stupid father isn’t going to stop us.”

Zuko just swallows, but he returns Aang’s fist bump readily enough.

oOo

“So I have some news,” Aang says when everyone’s finally gotten a chance to settle down.

Sokka is squeezing Zuko’s hand like if he stops for one second, Aang will disappear. Zuko kindly doesn’t mention it.

“What news?” Sokka manages to say.

“Uh…” Aang says, looking over at Zuko and Azula. “I need to fill you in on some things first.”

“Time for some exposition,” Toph grins.

“What do you know about the Avatar?” Aang says after he throws a pillow in Toph’s direction. It misses and hits Sokka instead.

Aang ignores Sokka’s indignant “Hey!”

“Not a lot. Some pompous twit that never bothered showing up to fight our father. Some master firebender or something?” Azula responds.

“Apparently has some power he doesn’t know, can defeat him, some other prophecy shit…which judging by your faces is completely wrong,” Zuko finishes.

“…. _what_ is that man teaching you?” Sokka replies after everyone blinks at the two siblings.

Aang runs one hand down his face. “The Avatar is a bender that can use all of the elements, communicate with the spirit world, and fight the latest big bad essentially.”

“Ah,” Zuko and Azula say together.

Azula then shoves Zuko. “Jinx, you owe me a soda.”

“You don’t even like soda!” he groans.

“Tea then,” Azula says smugly.

“Ugh, fine. Anyway, is that who our father was looking for when we were younger? He seemed to be under the impression that the Avatar was an old man though,” Zuko adds.

Aang sighs. “The world didn’t need an Avatar for awhile. So whichever bender was born with the capability just faded into obscurity. I’m the current Avatar, but there wasn’t anyone to fight, so I never mastered all of the elements.”

“You’re the Avatar?” Azula squeaks.

“And you all know?” Zuko gestures widely at the whole room.

Suki nods.

“Yeah,” Sokka says. “You didn’t really think we just do vaguely illegal things for fun, right?”

“Bit more than vaguely,” Toph chimes in. “We call ourselves the Gaang for a reason.”

“Are you a gang?” Zuko asks, looking alarmed.

“No, no, the Gaang, two A’s. We’ve been helping Aang out for awhile now.”

“But…why? You said there was no one to fight right now.”

“I mean, sure, Azula. But Fire Lord Enterprises is responsible for gentrification, toxic waste, and exploitation. We’re pretty sure that they’ve been swooping up other benders for a long time, including those firebenders you said have been disappearing from hospitals, Zuko. We don’t really know what for, but our best theory is that if they deal with all the other benders, there’s no chance of getting an Avatar. So we’ve been sabotaging them where we can. They did also try to steal Appa,” Sokka says.

“You know…our father…runs Fire Lord Enterprises, right?”

“Well, now we do,” Suki mutters.

“Yeah, he’s the Phoenix King we’re supposed to fight apparently,” Aang responds.

“Phoenix King,” Toph laughs. “What the fuck is that?”

Sokka looks over at Katara. She’s got her thinking face on.

“Aang,” she interrupts. “That’s great, enemy, whatever. We were already going to deal with him, because of all the shit he’s put Zuko and Azula through. But what about you? Are you still the Avatar? You technically died.”

“That’s the problem,” Aang says. “Apparently, because I never really mastered the elements, I technically wasn’t the Avatar. But because I died, another person is also the Avatar. I can’t use the Avatar state, but I’ll be able to master all of the elements eventually.”

“We’re going to have to train a baby Avatar??” Sokka yells. “We don’t have time for that!”

“Avatar Roku- uh, I can enter the spirit world to talk to past Avatars,” Aang explains in Azula and Zuko’s direction.

“Of course,” Azula says faintly. “Why not?”

“Right, so apparently since I didn’t master the elements, I fucked something up in the cycle. So I might already know the new Avatar? And they’re not a baby.”

“…are they going to show themselves somehow?” Sokka asks skeptically.

“Maybe?” Aang shrugs. “Roku didn’t say very much.”

“Great,” Sokka says sarcastically. “I love me some cryptic Avatar shit.”

oOo

They have a minute before everyone goes home.

“So we have no idea who the new Avatar is. Our current Avatar is injured. And your father’s apparently our mortal enemy. Anything else?”

“Do we need anything else?” Zuko says faintly. He’s sitting next to Sokka, but he feels miles away.

Sokka sighs. “I’m sorry. We’re going to figure this out, you know.”

“I know,” Zuko repeats blankly.

“Hey.”

“Hey?” Zuko says, finally looking up to make eye contact with Sokka.

“We’re going to make this work. I know it’s been rough. I know it’s probably going to continue to be that way for a while. If you want to talk or you need a distraction, I’m here.”

“…I know I need to deal with all of this,” Zuko says finally. “Can it just not be now?”

“Yeah,” Sokka responds softly, wrapping an arm around Zuko. “It can be not now.”

oOo

It’s the next day, and Sokka has been asking all the benders to try a different element.

“You said you rotate what element you start with, right?” Sokka tosses in Aang’s direction.

“I mean, yes…but I don’t know if that’s also been fucked up by this.”

“Awesome,” Sokka responds. “Just…keep trying, I guess.”

“I mean, I have been trying, lover boy, and this candle flame is not moving,” Toph says. “Not that I can see it, but Katara, it’s not moving, right?”

“I don’t think it is. Sorry, Sokka. I can’t really move this pile of dirt you gave me either.”

“Are you thinking like the dirt, Katara?! Are you really channeling your inner mud monster?!”

“…well, I’m trying to, but that doesn’t sound legit.”

“Ugh!” Sokka says, throwing up his hands. “What about you, Azula? Any luck?”

“The water seems to have moved, but it’s because Zuko forgot and drank some,” she says disapprovingly.

“You took a sip first!” Zuko shouts.

“Yeah, a small sip! You drank half the glass!”

Sokka just sighs.

“Never mind,” he says. “Let’s just drink tea, I guess.”

oOo

Azula finally manages to talk to Suki alone a day later.

“We never really talked about how you feel about my firebending,” she says.

“Hi, Azula, it’s good to see you, too.”

“Sorry,” Azula winces. “I was rehearsing this conversation in my head so many times.”

“It’s fine,” Suki smiles softly. “Why would I have a problem with your firebending?”

“I don’t know…maybe because there are quite a few evil ones? Like my father?”

“Are you your father?”

“No, I have better hair than him,” Azula quips.

“Are you going to suddenly turn evil and start trying to kill the Avatar or us?”

“Of course not!” Azula says hotly.

“Then why would I be bothered by it? It’s part of you. You’ve chosen to try to be a better person. And honestly, from what little I’ve seen of it, it’s pretty hot,” Suki smirks.

“Is that…a pun?” Azula replies.

“Why? You into that?”

“…maybe,” Azula says, leaning in for a kiss.

“Hold up, Azula.”

“Yes?” Azula says from inches away.

“You’ve got a lot going on right now. There’s your father, your uncle, whatever this Avatar business is. We haven’t had a chance to talk about most of it. Are you doing okay?”

Azula pulls back a bit. “…not really, no.”

Suki nods for her to continue.

“The nightmares are still happening. I need my father to just go away. But he clearly has Uncle now. I’m not as cut up as Zuko, because I didn’t see Uncle with my own two eyes and watch him be dragged away. I just…I just don’t know what to say any more. I’m trying to talk to people, but it’s just really hard sometimes. I can’t find the words.”

“That’s okay,” Suki says, wrapping her arms around Azula’s waist. “You’re not always going to be able to express what’s going on inside your head. I just don’t want you to feel like we’re too busy for someone to make time to listen to you. And..I love you, okay? We’ve been through some shit. We can get through this, too.”

Azula can feel a tear streaking down her face, but she brushes it away.

“Yeah,” she responds, but her voice sounds hoarse.

“It’s going to get better. It just might be slow.”

“I can handle slow. Or well, I guess _now_ I can handle slow,” Azula laughs wetly. “Do you remember when we first started hanging out? And I just up and left when we were watching a movie?”

“Yeah?”

“I drove here actually. Zuko was helping Uncle with something, so he was trapped cleaning the back room. And I just sat on the floor and cried my eyes out to him that we were going so, so slow and what if you didn’t even like me? What if you were just hanging out with me to get me to shut up?”

Suki looks like she’s holding in a laugh. “What did Zuko say?”

“He told me we’d basically been dating for a few weeks already and that if I wasn’t sure where we stood, I should just talk to you. And that if I couldn’t talk to you then, when the stakes were pretty low, how the hell would we work long term when we had actual shit to deal with? He also said I was too stubborn to not keep trying.”

“Sometimes, your brother is pretty smart.”

“Keyword is sometimes,” Azula chuckles.

“He got one thing right. You _are_ really stubborn.”

“Oh, shut up,” Azula says with a laugh, but she twines some of Suki’s hair around her fingers.

“He really loves you though,” Suki says, getting serious again. “And not just him. You have a lot of people who would be happy to hear from you when you’re ready. Even more than before.”

“You know…Aang actually said that to me before Sokka figured out where Uncle was.”

“Aang said that?”

“Yeah…a bit odd, but it felt like he really knew what bottling things up felt like.”

“…ah. Yeah, it’s…not really my story to tell. But what I can say is that Aang spent a lot of time alone before he went to college with Sokka and Katara. He bounced around a ton of foster homes before he ended up in a good one. And being the Avatar, bad guy or not, really drained him for awhile.”

“I see.”

“I don’t think any of us can really understand? He always tries to take things on by himself. Like he wasn’t even planning on saying anything while he was bleeding out in my car. I’m just happy that whatever Katara did this time worked. He’s been through a lot.”

“I’m glad he’s okay,” Azula mutters. “I know I’m not close to him, but I’d like to see how he’s doing.”

“I’m pretty sure he’d like that,” Suki says.

oOo

Eventually, Aang is well enough to move. They’re even driving back to their place now.

By Katara’s estimate, he’ll only need another day or so to recover fully.

“You’re extremely lucky that Suki noticed you bleeding everywhere and that you had me around,” she adds.

“Yeah…I’m really lucky,” Aang smiles.

“Ugh, I want to yell at you, but you look so beat up still.”

“Just wait until I take a shower, Katara. Then I’ll be back to normal.”

“You used so much energy just trying to stay alive while I healed you, Aang. You’re not going to be challenging Sokka to any weightlifting competitions anytime soon.”

“Wanna bet? You could join me in that shower and see for yourself,” he grins, waggling his eyebrows.

“I’ll pass this time,” Katara says dryly. “I don’t want to undo any of the work I did. You really scared me, Aang. Any later, and I wouln’t have been able to help. It took hours to patch you up as is. So be careful, okay? If you start bleeding again, call Sokka, so it can be his turn to deal with it.”

“Uh…speaking of phone calls…someone’s calling you?”

“What?” Katara asks. “Well, the phone’s closer to you, so just pick up, I guess?”

“Hello?“

“Aang,” someone interrupts over the phone. “I need Katara to tell me how to turn this off.”

“Hold on a sec- I’m in the car with her, so let me put you on speaker.”

“Hey, what’s up?” Katara says.

“How do you stop this?!”

“Stop…what?” she asks.

“I was just making some tea…and now the water is floating? I can’t get it to stop??”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm basically treating the Avatar like the Slayer from Buffy. Basically, there's people who can become the Avatar, but they grow up normally and are "activated" when the previous Avatar dies. I know that's essentially how it works in the show, but my point is that Aang already died, even if it was for a hot second, so there's a new one up. And I'm making up some handwavey lore that is Roku's best guess to explain why it's different and how there can technically be two Avatars, because my boy Aang is not dying. Sorry it's not more fleshed out, but the actual reason why is not a super important point to the story. I just wanted to do something different :) Hope you still enjoy!
> 
> Also, I've written over 100 pages on Word for this fic! And I'm officially over 40k :) Thank you for reading!


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which there is sushi, a jar, and an assortment of conversations, not necessarily in that order.
> 
> The end notes are about real life, comments, and the Avatar :)

Zuko desperately wants it to stop.

There’s wind whipping his hair in his face, and it’s getting faster and faster.

He can feel water on his face, but he isn’t sure if it’s from bending or the air pulling tears from his tired eyes.

He can see Sokka clinging to the counter a few feet away.

“What are we going to do??” Sokka shouts over the howl of the wind. “I’m too pretty to be blown away! Make it stop, Zuko!”

But Zuko doesn’t know how to make it stop, so he just grimaces and tries to inch his way closer to the other boy.

“I don’t know what to do!” he replies, raising his voice even louder when the wind picks up even more speed.

“Well, we better do something quick before the earth bending show up,” Sokka mutters.

And of course, that’s when a globs of mud appear and join the whirling storm taking up residence in the tea shop.

“You just had to say it!” Zuko accuses.

“Hey, it’s not my- at least, there isn’t any firebend-“

“Don’t say it!” Zuko yells.

But once again, it’s too late.

He hears a peal of thunder and he whirls around to see lightning traveling from a nearby outlet. The storm is blocking the overhead lights, but the brief glimpses he can see aren’t promising.

The sizzle of electricity is accompanied by the flashing of the lights.

“Didn’t you call Katara?”

“I did! But she and Aang just laughed and hung up!”

“Ugh.”

Lightning cracks a little too close to him for comfort, scorching the metal handle of a cupboard.

“This isn’t even how lightning works!” Sokka wails.

“Oh, shut up,” Zuko says, trying to think. “Okay, it all started with the tea and the water. So-“

He’s cut off by mud splattering across his face.

“You okay?” Sokka shouts, but he sounds muffled.

Zuko spits. “I’m fine. Okay, if this started with water, we’re going to end it the same way, alright?”

“Am I supposed to think calm water thoughts?” Sokka yells sarcastically. “Because something tells me that’s not going to be enough!”

“Did you manage to get any water in there?” Zuko responds, ignoring Sokka as he pulls himself closer to the forgotten mug.

“Some?” Sokka says, also attempting to wiggle his way over.

“Okay,” Zuko takes a breath, pretending that his hair isn’t covering his face entirely. “I’m going to count to three, and you’re going to pretend that all of the water can fit in this mug.”

“Zuko, I don’t know if you noticed, but there’s a _big fucking storm_ here?” Sokka shouts in annoyance.

“I know,” Zuko growls. “And you’re going to put it all in this mug.”

“That’s not how physics works!”

“Just put it in the mug!”

Zuko can feel his fingers start to grow numb from frantically holding on to the counter. The wind is swirling and swirling. He knows it’s only a matter of time before they have a miniature typhoon in here.

So he sucks it up, releases his grip slightly and lunges at the mug.

He can feel his tired fingers wrap around it, and he manages to slide it towards Sokka.

Zuko can see Sokka is even closer now. But his eyes are closed, one hand scrambling for the mug as a river of mud starts seeping into their shoes.

He turns away from Sokka briefly and sees a towering wall of water racing towards them from the front door.

Zuko tries to take another breath to yell, but the wind snatches the words away.

The water is almost upon them and Zuko sees Sokka out of the corner of his eye.

The other boy has his eyes closed, one hand clenched around the handle of the mug, the other tightly holding a mason jar he’s produced from nowhere.

The mud is rising. Zuko can almost smell the singe of burnt hair as the lightning creeps closer.

Then the wave is on them.

Zuko’s fingers scrabble at the counter, but he can’t hold on.

Resigned, he closes his eyes.

oOo

“You can open your eyes now,” Sokka gasps.

Zuko peaks out from behind a curtain of hair, but he can already tell the storm has died down.

He blinks at the mason jar clutched tightly in Sokka’s hands.

There’s a crackle of lightning illuminating a tiny downpour of rain inside the jar.

“Is…is that even a thing?” he asks.

“I’m not the bender here!” Sokka says, sliding down to sit on the floor. “What do I know?”

“Well, apparently, you are very much a bender now,” Zuko replies.

Sokka just looks at him for a second.

“Holy shit.”

Zuko just laughs.

oOo

A little while later, Sokka feels a little less like his legs are going to give out.

They spend the better part of an hour cleaning. Surprisingly, most of the storm was apparently carried into the jar, and there isn’t too much to clean.

Sokka isn’t complaining. The idea of mopping all of that mud and grime makes him shiver.

His brain still isn’t computing though.

“Zuko-” he starts, finally reaching for some of the dishes.

“No!” Zuko yells, wrenching his hand away from the faucet.

Sokka looks at Zuko questioningly.

“You saw what happened when you just wanted tea,” Zuko smirks. “I think you’re banned from dish duty right now. Who knows what you’d do with that much water?”

Sokka groans, but he moves his hands away.

“I thought today was going to be easy. The customers were nice. We didn’t have many things to clean. Aang got to leave. And then this happened,” he says. “I don’t even really get what’s happening.”

He looks up to find Zuko staring at him.

“Sokka,” the other boy says slowly. “You controlled all of the elements. You’re the new Avatar.”

“What!” Sokka shrieks.

oOo

Katara should probably go back to the tea shop.

Sokka sounded extremely worried over the phone.

But honestly, she really doesn’t want to leave Aang alone tonight. It’ll be the first time he’s actually back in their place. She knows he’s on the mend. But…she can’t help but worry.

And floating water doesn’t sound too serious.

She shrugs. It can probably wait until tomorrow morning.

“Mind texting Sokka back for me, Aang?” she says, putting on the turn signal.

“Sure thing.”

Her phone buzzes with an incoming text.

_7:23 PM yeah, don’t worry about it, Katara. Say hi to Aang for me! I’ll see you tomorrow then?_

Katara gets Aang to like the message, and then she focuses on driving home.

oOo

“Hey-“ Katara says when she walks in the next morning.

“Nice of you to join us,” Sokka cuts her off, aggressively putting a mug of tea down in front of her.

“…everything alright?” she asks. “I’m sorry I couldn’t come over last night.”

“Oh, no, no worries. We just discovered I’m the Avatar and caught a storm in a bottle,” Sokka says brightly.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Katara blinks.

oOo

Zuko can see that Katara isn’t understanding Sokka’s explanation.

In her defense, his explanation is a lot of animated gesturing and loud whooshing.

So Zuko picks up the jar and slides it towards Katara.

Her mouth closes with a click.

“You…have a storm…in a jar,” she says eventually.

“Yes,” Zuko responds as Sokka nods furiously.

“How?” she shrieks.

“Bending,” Sokka says, wiggling his fingers.

“…let me go get Aang,” she says faintly, leaving the tea shop before the two boys can say anything else.

oOo

They’re waiting for the rest of the gang to arrive for another meeting.

Aang looks over at her as he gingerly sits down on the couch he’d just vacated the previous day. “Everything alright?”

“I guess,” she responds, turning to face him. The freshly laundered sheets from his makeshift bed bunch up around her waist, and she smooths the wrinkles out with her fingers.

“He didn’t tell you shit,” Aang laughs.

“He didn’t tell me shit,” Katara agrees, but she’s smiling.

Aang just continues chuckling as he slowly lies down.

She sits up and flutters one hand nervously behind his back. It’s not like she could catch his full weight onehanded if he fell, but the small gesture makes her feel useful.

She holds her breath until he’s finally comfortable against the three pillows she’d just fluffed.

“You know you don’t have to wince every time I move, right?” Aang says quietly.

Katara wants to deny it, but she just sighs.

“Way to call me out, Aang,” she says, smiling slightly.

Aang shrugs slowly. “You get all tense, and I swear you’re sucking all of the air out of the room. I really am okay, you know?”

She really wants to just poke him and laugh it off, but she keeps seeing the blood she had to wash off her hands. So she swallows instead and just looks at him.

Aang glances over at her.

“I’m right here, Katara.”

“I know,” she responds. “It’s just-“

“You were all up in my blood. You can’t just turn all that worry and anxiety off,” Aang says gently.

Katara can feel a sob rising in her throat, but she’s still determined to hold it in.

“Just because you’re a badass doesn’t mean you have to be okay right now,” Aang continues.

And that is what does it.

She feels one tear and then another sliding down her cheek.

Aang doesn’t flinch away or look uncomfortable like he used to.

He just calmly holds out an arm, so she can curl up carefully against his side.

Katara tries to angle her face away to avoid drenching Aang’s sleeve, but he just pulls her closer until she’s comfy against his shoulder.

“I really don’t give a shit about this shirt, Katara,” Aang chuckles.

She gives up and just cries.

oOo

Later, when she’s exhausted and finally wiped away the last of her tears, Katara feels a kiss pressed against her hair.

Her eyes are closing, and she’s half asleep. The gang will be here any minute.

She mumbles into Aang’s shirt. “-ove you, Aa-“

She feels a rumble of laughter and a quiet, “Love you, Katara.”

oOo

Eventually, the rest of the gang filters in.

Toph is already cackling maniacally even before they fill everyone in on the latest developments.

Zuko is a bit concerned.

oOo

The news that Sokka is the new Avatar apparently only shocks Katara.

Suki just shrugs like she expected it. Toph continues to laugh as if things are turning out exactly the way she planned.

Azula looks at Sokka speculatively for a moment before grinning. “I’m impressed.”

Zuko is not sure she understands the true meaning of _storm in a bottle_.

oOo

They’ve finished recounting the tale and even Aang seems tired of peering into the mason jar.

“What now?” someone asks.

“Now we train our resident lover boy,” Toph grins.

Sokka gulps.

oOo

“What about Iroh?” Katara asks.

“We can’t really do anything until Sokka gets his bending under control,” Azula responds. “As much as I’d like to free Uncle, we’re going to need everyone at their best if we’re going to break into our father’s home.”

“There’s no other way in?” Suki asks, reaching over to tangle their fingers together.

Azula shakes her head. “It’s either a heist, or we break the door down. And our father’s security is nothing to sneeze at.”

Zuko runs a hand down his face tiredly.

“I really never wanted to go back there,” he says.

Sokka squeezes his shoulder, but Zuko is already starting to feel butterflies fluttering in his stomach.

oOo

“Let’s start with you showing us what you can do,” Katara says reasonably.

She pours a bit of water in a mug and holds it out to her brother.

He sighs, but he reaches over to grab it.

She moves it away before he can wrap his fingers around it.

“Do _not_ make another storm,” she smiles threateningly.

Sokka just laughs nervously.

oOo

They spend half an hour watching Sokka stare intently at the mug.

“…I think I see it bubbling a little?” Zuko offers tentatively.

“That’s because Toph just blew on it,” Katara groans. “Look, Sokka, I think you need a break. Most bending is dependent on emotions of some kind. Stop thinking about how the molecules should move and whatever physics explanation you’re trying to create.”

Sokka looks up at her guiltily.

Zuko is not sure telling Sokka, the one who lives and breathes science, not to think about science is actually going to get them anywhere, but he supposes it’s worth a shot.

They sit there for another fifteen minutes before Zuko gets bored.

“Okay,” he says. “I think we all need a break.”

“We haven’t even done anything!” Sokka protests.

Zuko gently moves the mug of water away from him.

“I think we need a break,” he repeats.

oOo

Everyone files out of the tea shop quickly enough. It’s nearing lunch time, but Zuko already mentioned he had no intention of opening the shop today.

Sokka looks crestfallen, and he loiters a bit, packing and unpacking his things.

Azula is one of the last to leave, loudly proclaiming how she’s going to spend the night at Suki’s and wouldn’t it be nice to not be alone tonight?

He doesn’t want to bother Zuko, but he’s feeling a bit off balance.

Becoming the new Avatar was supposed to be exciting, right? Or at least a great honor or something?

But Sokka just feels extraordinarily useless.

“Hey,” he hears.

“Hey, yourself,” he manages, pasting on a smile.

“Hey, hey, none of that,” Zuko says. “I get being disappointed right now. So we’re going to hang out here for a while, because I know you’re done your school stuff and I don’t want you to just sit around wallowing at home.”

Sokka wants to refuse. He kind of really wants a good wallow right now. But spending time with Zuko sounds more appealing, especially after all the shit going down around them.

“Isn’t it weird to just…hang out and chill?” he asks.

“Because you’re the new Avatar, my father’s your mortal enemy, and he’s most likely got my uncle?”

“Yeah,” Sokka swallows.

He watches Zuko runs his hands through his hair in frustration.

“I can’t actually do anything about those now,” Zuko says finally. “But I can spend time with my boyfriend, if he’s cool with that?”

“Boyfriend, huh?” Sokka says, melancholy momentarily forgotten.

“Yeah,” Zuko smirks.

Sokka just leans and presses a kiss to the corner of the other boy’s mouth.

“Well, your boyfriend says he’s cool with hanging out,” Sokka responds.

“Great,” Zuko smiles, and Sokka sees him let out a relieved breath.

“Were you that worried I’d say no?” he asks.

“Kind of,” Zuko replies. “I also just…don’t really want to be alone right now. Azula and Toph are helping Suki with some last repairs in her place. And I know we just had everyone here, but Azula’s been here for a little while now. I guess I’m used to it? But tonight, I’m on my own.”

“You want me to stay over then?” Sokka says without thinking. “I mean- ignore that, why would you want me to stay over? We haven’t even been dating that long. Just forget I said anything-“

“-yes,” Zuko interrupts.

Sokka’s mouth opens and closes for a minute before finally he just grins.

“ _Don’t_ say it’s a sleepover,” Zuko groans.

“It’s a sleepover!” Sokka crows. “We’ll do each other’s nails, and I’ll braid your hair, then I’ll finally teach you how to knit. We could order sushi?? I know we, I mean you, could make some, but I feel like today is a takeout kind of day. And we could finally try that rose hibiscus tea?”

Zuko just wraps a hand around his arm and pulls him closer.

“How about we start with sushi and go from there?”

“Sounds good to me,” Sokka says, curling a finger around Zuko’s belt.

Zuko leans in slightly, and Sokka meets him halfway.

oOo

They’re waiting on their sushi to arrive, and Sokka is getting increasingly nervous about spending the night.

“WhatifIdon’twanttosleepwithyoutonight?” he says in a rush when he can’t take it anymore.

And Zuko, the best boyfriend ever, somehow understands him.

“Then we don’t have sex,” Zuko says, like that’s the end of it.

“But- but, you asked me to spend the night?!” Sokka squeaks. “Isn’t sex kind of implied?”

“We’re not doing anything we’re both not comfortable doing,” Zuko says firmly. “You told me there isn’t some fucking timeline you have to follow with relationships. So I don’t care if we’re ‘supposed’ to sleep together when you spend the night.”

Sokka just pauses and then hugs him.

“Isn’t that what I’m supposed to do as your typical horny college student though?” he laughs.

“Don’t we have enough we’re worried about without adding stupid college shit, too?” Zuko mutters, but he returns the hug. “Your best friend, the Avatar, was just shot repeatedly, died a little, and came back to life. But he was still dead for long enough that now you’re also the Avatar. I think it’s cool if you’ve got more on your mind than sex right now. And I don’t think anyone could accuse you of being a typical anything.”

Sokka finally just breathes.

“Sometimes, I just really, _really_ like you.”

Zuko just grins back. “I mean, we are dat-“

He’s cut off by his phone ringing.

“…it’s Azula calling?” Zuko says. “Mind if I take this?”

“Nah, take your time,” Sokka responds. “I think our food will be here soon, so you find out what’s up with Azula, and I’ll grab the sushi?”

“Thanks, babe,” Zuko says absentmindedly, and then he cringes.

“That’s…new,” Sokka replies faintly.

Zuko grimaces as he accepts the call.

“Never happening again- Hey, Azula, what’s up?”

Sokka just winks at him.

oOo

“I’m having a crisis, Zuzu,” Azula responds shrilly over the phone.

“Don’t call me that,” he says, but the words stopped meaning anything a while ago.

“Never mind that,” she snaps back. “I need your help!”

“So again, I repeat, what’s up?” he replies dryly.

“Suki asked me if I want to grab dinner tonight. And I have nothing to wear!”

Zuko groans. “Your crisis is a fashion crisis, and you called me? Also, isn’t Toph with you?”

“No, Toph said she had someone’s skull to crush? So she asked for us to drop her off at some martial arts gym. I didn’t ask,” she says after a moment. “But anyway, I’ll handle the fashion issue. I wanted to ask if we could…pick up some of my things tomorrow. As gracious a host as you’ve been, I’d really like some of my own clothes.”

“I’m happy to go with you,” Zuko starts. “But if our father’s been there-“

“I know,” she rushes to say. “We don’t know what state the apartment will be in. But…Zuko, I want to try.”

“It might be hard. Sure, he found you in the old apartment you bought back, but he probably had your new address, too. But,” he says. “If you want to try, we’ll go.”

“Thanks, Zuko,” she says quietly.

“Yeah, yeah, don’t thank me yet,” he huffs.

Azula laughs. “I’ll thank you for whatever I want, Zuzu. You enjoy your time with Sokka today, alright? We won’t have much time once we start actually training. And then everything will get more complicated from there.”

“I know,” Zuko breathes out in frustration. “We’re ordering sushi, and he’s actually staying over-“

“Oh, good,” Azula cuts in. “I really didn’t want you to be alone tonight.”

“Did you…make sure Sokka was the last to leave?” he asks suspiciously.

“Well, he was certainly dawdling enough by himself, but I may have loudly talked about how would be _so_ nice to spend time at my girlfriend’s place tonight and wouldn’t it be nice to have someone else here on your first night alone in a while?”

“Very subtle, Azula,” Zuko laughs.

“Sokka either understands all the subtleties, or he needs everything spelled out with color coded charts. There’s no in-between,” she says logically.

“That’s very true,” he chuckles. “I’ll let you get back to your fashion crisis. But…thanks, Azula.”

“Anytime, Zuko. Let me know how that sushi is.”

“Will do. Later, Azula.”

Zuko hangs up after Azula says her goodbyes.

Sokka’s struggling with several giant bags of takeout, so Zuko hurries over to rescue them from his boyfriend’s grasp.

“They better have put extra wasabi in here,” Sokka mutters behind him as they put the bags down on the counter.

“…you start coughing every time you eat wasabi though?”

“I will build up my tolerance!”

Zuko just sighs as he wrestles a tray open.

“Don’t ask me to rescue you,” he says.

“When have I ever-“ Sokka starts.

Zuko stuffs a tuna roll in his mouth to cut him off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Real life just got so, so busy, so I'm sorry this chapter is later than I usually post. I hope you enjoy it! It's a lot of different scenes put together, but I had a good time writing it. I know the bending is kind of handwavey here, and I don't even have a good excuse for it. I really just wanted them to deal with something ridiculous. So hope that doesn't completely turn you off. I don't have time to edit today, but I hope I'll get the chance in the next few days. Thank you for reading! And thank you for leaving kudos, comments, and bookmarking this fic! To anyone who's left a comment I haven't responded to yet, I absolutely read it and I'm so appreciative! I just haven't had a second to myself to write anything back. One last thing, many of you guessed who the new Avatar is, and I don't believe in changing plot points just to make things unpredictable. The point of whatever clues I left is to give you all a chance to come up with your own ideas. Some people had REALLY cool ideas that I wish I came up with, but this is where we've been heading. If you figured it out, that just means you're awesome. We don't just do things for shock value in this house lol. Anyway, this got really long, so hope you enjoy!


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which there is Fullmetal Alchemist, an octopus, and pho, in that order.
> 
> Note: just a quick thing, if you've never read or seen Fullmetal Alchemist, you basically just need to know there was an adaptation in 2003 and a more recent one that adapted the manga more closely. And one character grew a really terrible mustache later.

“-and you move this piece over to this side, and see, now you’re in a good position to actually win. Your opponent totally won’t see this coming…“

Sokka feels guilty that he hasn’t tried bending again. He knows that everyone’s waiting on him to figure things out. But it’s just so much easier to pick away at the remaining sushi and half-listen to Zuko ramble about pai sho.

The other boy had dusted off a board from somewhere, and he’s been poking at pieces and gesturing animatedly.

Sokka looks up as Zuko trails off.

“Sorry, I must be boring you,” Zuko says, rubbing the back of his head.

“No!” Sokka says too loudly.

He winces when Zuko jumps.

“No,” he repeats, softer this time. “I swear, I really do want to learn, and I really do like having you explain all this to me. It’s- it’s- I’m sorry, my mind is really elsewhere right now. And that’s really not cool-“

“No, I get it,” Zuko sighs.

Sokka just blinks at him.

“It’s not every day you become the Avatar, right?” Zuko replies ruefully. “Not sure why I thought pai sho would compare to that.”

“No!” Sokka says again, leaning forward. “No, look, it’s not that. I mean, it is that? But you and your interests aren’t any less important to me. I’m really sorry, Zuko. I just…feel really guilty that your uncle is out there stuck with your dad, and you’re all just waiting on me to figure out bending-“

Zuko cuts him off.

“It’s not your job to fix all of this. You’re going to get the hang of bending-“

“But Zuko, what if I don’t? How am I supposed to be the Avatar when I can’t even move a fucking drop of water around?”

“Maybe water isn’t the easiest element to start with anyway? You need to have a water source around to start, right? We could give fire a try instead? Right now, if you want?”

“Are you sure?” Sokka asks. “Today was just supposed to be us chilling, I feel like I’m ruining it.”

“Sokka, every single time I’ve had an issue- my father, my sister, all of it- you’ve been there the whole time. Even when you barely knew me. I was trying to distract you, but maybe…maybe we can try.”

“You know, I’m not just here when we have problems, right? Like I swear, I really like spending time with you. But I feel this overwhelming need to get up and move around- and like I need to figure this out right now. I’m the one with the plans, right? I need to have-“

“-your shit together? You really don’t. But okay, you know what? We’re not doing a lot, but I’m going to getting you started, because I feel bad about how stressed you look,” Zuko smirks a bit, but it’s halfhearted at best.

“Zuko…you don’t have to. We can talk about something else?” Sokka tries.

“Nah, I think- I think we need to try. I can practically see the thoughts swirling in your head right now,” Zuko laughs as he extends his own hand in front of him.

“I want you to look carefully,” he continues.

Sokka can’t really tear his eyes away from the small flame cradled in Zuko’s hands.

oOo

“Okay, can you blink a little?” Zuko says, sounding amused. “It’s getting a little weird.”

“Shut up,” Sokka responds, but he looks up with a smile. “So what was I supposed to be looking at? The flame’s all black in the middle, yellow right around that, maybe a hint of orange, and then blue right around the edges if you squint.”

Zuko blinks at him. “That’s…about all I wanted you to notice. Put your hand out in front of you.”

“Put my hand out?” Sokka asks, but he sticks his hand out regardless.

“Now picture what you just described to me, but this time, it’s sitting in your hand.”

“Uh, not sure how I’m supposed to do that exactly, but I guess I can try?” Sokka replies, shutting his eyes.

“Yeah, nope, eyes open, buddy. This is fire. If you’re not watching what you’re doing right now, you could set something on fire. None of this tv show-esque shut your eyes shit,” Zuko laughs.

“Ugh, fine,” Sokka says, but he’s focusing on the lines in his palm now.

He’s thinking and thinking of the flame he saw and believing it will show up in his hand.

Nothing.

He can feel a bead of sweat going down the side of his forehead.

“Okay, okay, stop believing you can do this,” Zuko says, making Sokka jump.

“How’d you know I was thinking that?” Sokka accuses.

“You guys are like a walking Disney movie sometimes,” Zuko says, looking like he’s struggling to keep a straight face. “I’m just waiting for you to say you believe in me and say ‘of course, we’ll figure things out.’”

Sokka opens his mouth to protest.

“It’s not a bad thing!” Zuko rushes to protest. “But firebending is a bit more commanding than that. The fire is an extension of yourself and all that. You’re not just manipulating. So picture what you want to happen. Don’t question it, don’t theorize about it happening. Just picture it in your hand and _will_ it there.”

Sokka is trying his best to hide his confusion.

“Just trust me,” Zuko says wryly.

Sokka squints at Zuko for a second. “Okay, babe, whatever you say.”

He pictures the small flame appearing in his hand and blows out a breath.

“Let there be fucking light,” he says.

Then he looks down and laughs brightly at the tiny spark in his hand.

“I did it!” he says in delight.

“That was really fucking cheesy. But good job,” Zuko grins back.

The smile on his face starts to fall away.

“Sokka- Sokka, it’s growing- put it out!”

“What? What do you mean it’s- holy shit!” Sokka shrieks as the small flame grows and grows until it’s inching up his forearm, dangerously close to his rolled-up sleeve.

“Put it out!” he hears Zuko yell.

“How do I put it out??” Sokka screams back, just watching the flame grow ever closer.

“Are you a science major or not?” Zuko responds.

“Oh,” Sokka says, before making a mad dash to a sink.

Zuko’s right behind him, yanking the faucet open.

He sighs when the cold tap water puts the fire out with a sizzle.

“Right,” he says, turning around to Sokka. “I think that’s enough learning for one day.”

Sokka just leans against the counter and rests his head against Zuko’s shoulder.

Zuko pokes him in the side gently.

“Also, don’t run when you’re on fire, buddy. You’re just feeding it oxygen.”

“Oh, shut up, Zuko!” Sokka grins. “You just told me to ‘put it out.’ As if I should know how to do that.”

“Yeah…not the best advice,” Zuko grimaces. “But you know what though? Congrats, Sokka. It might’ve been the tiniest spark, but you’re officially a firebender now.”

“I know! Did you see that? I was like whoosh and then it was like fwoosh!”

Zuko throws his head back and laughs.

Sokka just smiles and puts his hand on Zuko’s unscarred cheek, leaning in for a kiss.

oOo

“I can’t believe you’ve never seen the newest Fullmetal Alchemist anime??” Sokka yells.

They’ve eaten the rest of the sushi for dinner, and they’re sitting around with a laptop propped up on their knees.

“I just never got around to it?” Zuko responds. “Isn’t it like the manga?”

“But- but-“ Sokka splutters. “So??”

“I mean, I watched the 2003 anime-“

“Shut up! Nope, put Brotherhood on now!”

“I mean, I don’t mind, but are you sure you want to rewatch-“

“Just put it on, Zuko!” Sokka screeches.

Zuko doesn’t like the strange gleam in Sokka’s eyes, so he hurriedly scrolls through Netflix.

oOo

They’ve just started season 2, and Zuko is riveted.

“I want to be Ed when I grow up,” he says to Sokka completely seriously while they wait for the next episode to load.

“Zuko, I want you to know my fifteen-year-old self just squealed,” Sokka replies.

He manages to pause the episode and get the laptop out of the way before Zuko kicks it off by laughing uproariously.

“Oh, shut up,” Sokka says. “You can’t tell me you didn’t have a crush on him.”

“No,” Zuko responds, wiping away a tear. “I had a crush on Roy.”

“Oh, you did, huh?” Sokka says, with an evil smile on his face. “We should keep watching then.”

“I read the manga, Sokka, I know what happens.”

“I know, but it’s one thing to read and completely different to see that mustache for yourself.”

oOo

At some point, they migrate upstairs to the apartment.

“We can keep watching, but let me just grab you a change of clothes and stuff,” Zuko says.

Sokka nods, looking around slowly.

The place is much larger than he expected. It must extend most of the length of the tea shop. He can see a large kitchen to one side, a tastefully decorated living room, and a hallway leading off to presumably the bedrooms.

“Bigger than you were expecting, right?” Zuko laughs as he walks back with the clothes and assorted toiletries tucked under an arm.

Sokka turns and just smiles softly. “It’s lovely.”

Zuko runs a hand through his hair. “It’s great. I love living here, but…”

“It’s not the same without your uncle or Azula?” Sokka finishes.

Zuko takes a second before he replies.

“Yeah,” he says, voice a little rough.

“Come on, I’ll show you to the bathroom, so you can change,” he continues after clearing his throat.

Zuko starts off down the hall abruptly, but Sokka just grabs his hand and keeps step.

He can feel Zuko squeeze his hand after a second.

oOo

“Sokka…it’s way past midnight, there’s no way we can finish this tonight,” Zuko says. “My eyes keep closing.”

“I know,” Sokka replies after he pauses the latest episode. “I’m just really comfortable right now.”

He’s cozy in an old t-shirt and sweatpants courtesy of Zuko. His boyfriend is radiating warmth against his side, and the bed is just so, so comfy.

“Hey,” Zuko says, nudging him. “Don’t fall asleep on me yet. We still have to brush our teeth and stuff,”

“Yeah,” Sokka sighs, resigning himself to leaving the sheets.

oOo

Teeth brushed, Sokka makes his way over to the couch.

“Where are you going?” he hears from behind him.

“I’m sleeping on the couch, right?” Sokka asks.

Zuko just sighs. “Yeah, my nightmares would probably scare me off, too-“

“Hold up, you think I don’t want to deal with your nightmares?” Sokka interrupts.

“I mean, I guess?”

“No, no, no,” Sokka says, waving his hands back and forth. “I already invited myself over. I don’t want to invite myself into your bed-“

He sees the corner of Zuko’s mouth start twitching.

“Shut up, Zuko! You know what I mean,” he says, waving more empathically.

Zuko grins. “Just sleep in the bed, buddy. You saw how big it is. I’ll even put tape down the middle if that’ll help your delicate sensibilities.”

“My delicate-“ Sokka starts indignantly.

He marches past Zuko towards his room, dragging the other boy by his sleeve.

“Fine! I’m hogging the blankets! And I warn you! I will octopus the shit out of you.”

oOo

“Holy shit,” Zuko whispers when he wakes up a couple hours later. “You really weren’t joking.”

Sokka’s still blissfully asleep, but he’s squeezing Zuko to death with all four limbs.

Zuko carefully disengages a couple before drifting off back to sleep.

oOo

“Fuck!”

Sokka wakes up to a smack in the face.

“I’m sorry, how rude. Excuse you-“ he starts before he notices Zuko’s shaking.

“Hey, Zuko,” he says, moving closer, hands hovering.

Zuko scrubs a hand down his face, catching some stray tears.

“Sorry,” the boy mutters, glancing at Sokka. “You okay?”

“Don’t worry about it. That’s my line,” Sokka says. “You want to talk about it?”

“Just…just your garden variety nightmare. Can’t save Azula, can’t save Uncle, can’t seem to do anything,” Zuko bites out.

“Can I hold your hand?” Sokka asks tentatively.

Zuko just reaches blindly towards him.

Sokka chuckles and threads their fingers together.

“I can’t convince you that you’re doing all you can. And I don’t want you to feel like you can’t talk to me about this stuff. So if there’s anything you want to say, I’m here to listen,” he says quietly.

He can feel Zuko take a shuddering breath.

“I just don’t know what to do. It feels like I can’t hold on to anyone. Everyone keeps slipping through my fingers, and I just- Sokka, I really just can’t. I don’t know how to deal with all of this. We got really lucky with Azula, and I- just thank you,” his voice is breaking, but he keeps going. “Seriously, you didn’t have to do any of this. But you’re always just here. And you…you found Uncle. I couldn’t even help. Sure, we couldn’t get to him, but you’re brilliant, and now you’re the Avatar. And there are so many better people who can actually help, and you’re still here with me. I just feel so fucking useless. We almost lost Aang. I barely know him, and I didn’t even notice he was hurt. And I know Azula’s still having nightmares. I just don’t know what to do. How am I supposed to fix all of this…“

Zuko’s voice sounds more and more raw until he just trails off.

Sokka takes a deep breath in.

“You know, Aang once told me that being useful is overrated. He said that we’re conditioned to think our only purpose in life is to be in service to others. But you’re worth something whether you can figure out where your uncle is or whether you’re the fucking Avatar. I don’t know what I’m doing either, Zuko. Bending doesn’t come naturally to me. I know physics and all these random skills I taught myself to try to keep Aang alive, but I don’t know what to do here either. I just…”

Zuko squeezes his hand as he stops talking.

“I think sometimes, it feels like I need to do more and be more. My father is planning something, and I can’t even get a proper night of sleep.”

“You know, when you told me I was the Avatar? That night, I went back to my place, right? We were going to tell Katara the next day. And I couldn’t sleep. I kept dreaming about trying to face down your father and having him tell me that I couldn’t even master one element, let alone all of them, so what kind of Avatar did that make me?”

“It was only one day! Of course you didn’t know what to do.”

“Yeah, and you don’t deal with kidnapped family members every day either, Zuko. I think we both have to cut ourselves some slack.”

Zuko stays silent for a second. “Yeah. Yeah, you’re right. I swear, I’m trying, Sokka.”

“Hey,” Sokka says. “I know you are. We all can see that. We’re in college. We’re not supposed to have all of this sorted out. But we’re doing what we can right now. And you know, you got a pretty kickass team of people who all want to have your back.”

“Yeah,” Zuko says, cracking a slight smile. “Our friends are kind of scary, buddy.”

“So fucking scary, man,” Sokka shudders.

Zuko sighs, and it sounds a little less shaky than before. “Do you mind if we get some more sleep?”

Sokka yawns. “Yeah, sure thing.”

Before he drifts off, he hears Zuko whisper, “Thanks, Sokka.”

He just shifts to wrap an arm loosely about Zuko’s waist before his eyes fall shut.

oOo

“Seriously?” Zuko says when he wakes up.

Sokka’s stolen all of the blankets.

oOo

Once they both eventually wake up, Zuko makes them breakfast while Sokka’s brushing his teeth.

It feels all properly domestic, only ruined by Azula and Suki traipsing in at a ridiculously early hour.

“I knew it!” Azula shrieks in triumph, making Sokka drop a forkful of steaming eggs into his lap. “I knew you’d end up spending the whole night!”

“Holy shit!” he screams. “Give me some warning, would you? What is it with the women in my life and scaring the shit out of me?”

“You have the best reactions,” Suki says from over his other shoulder, dodging the stab he attempts with his now empty fork.

“Zuko!” he yells. “They’re being mean to me!”

“You’re absolutely on your own there,” Zuko laughs as he serves some food for the two girls.

“Wow, thanks a lot, Zuko.”

“Hey, they could beat me up blindfolded with both hands tied behind their back. What do you want me to do?”

“That’s…that’s fair,” Sokka says, grudgingly scooting down to make room for Azula.

She gives him a wide smile and steals some of his toast.

oOo

When the four of them finally stumble down to open the tea shop, Zuko and Sokka rush off to clean the counters. Azula and Suki are left to organize the new crates of supplies in the back room as per usual.

“Do you know if Toph is coming by today?” Azula asks.

“Not sure,” Suki replies, bending over to grab another crate.

“You want to help me out here?” she adds, sounding amused. “Or do you just want to stare at me all day?”

Azula smirks. “I can’t do both?”

Suki laughs. “You’re good at a lot of things, Azula. But you’re really bad at working and looking at me.”

“I think it’s a crime not to appreciate how beautiful you are,” Azula sniffs dramatically.

“Thanks,” Suki says wryly. “Now go pick up one of those crates, or I’ll make sure all of your tea is lukewarm today.”

“You wouldn’t!” Azula recoils, sounding appalled.

“We’ve got twenty minutes to unload all of these,” Suki replies. “So try me.”

Azula groans, but she also picks up a crate.

“My noodle arms can’t take this!” Azula complain.

“Shut up, Azula. You could probably bench press me,” Zuko yells back from the front of the tea shop.

Suki laughs long and loud.

“Shut it, _Zuzu_.”

oOo

Toph sidles in later. There’s a lull in customers, so Zuko has time to make her an entire pot of passionfruit green tea and heat up a croissant.

“How’re you doing, Princess?”

Zuko doesn’t really get the nickname, but he doesn’t question these things anymore.

“It’s a busy day,” he replies.

“No, no, do I look like I’m interested in how many customers you’ve been getting?” Toph says. “I’m asking how _you’re_ doing. Not how the tea shop is doing.”

“I’ve been better,” Zuko replies.

“You’re stressing about your uncle, aren’t you? Wait, no, you feel useless,” she says knowingly.

“What- how-“

“I’m blind, buddy. Not dumb. You’re wearing anxiety like it’s the latest cologne. I can also hear you tapping your foot a mile a minute,” she points out.

Zuko puts his foot down guiltily.

“Don’t stop on my account,” Toph says airily. “I don’t mind the stench of fear in the morning. It goes well with tea.”

“Fear…goes well with tea,” Zuko repeats slowly.

“Just tell her what you’re stressing about, Sifu Hotman,” Aang says as he walks up stiffly.

“Yeah, you’re better off just telling her, or she’ll find some other, more painful way to drag it out of you,” Katara pipes up as she slides into a seat next to Toph.

Zuko sighs.

“Yeah, I’m worried about Uncle. And I’m happy Sokka is the Avatar, but…”

“-you’re also worried, because it’s hard enough learning one element, let alone trying to master all of them at once,” Aang finishes, trying to steal a piece of Toph’s croissant. She lets him tear it off, before she slaps his fingers away and eats the piece.

Katara snatches Aang’s hand away from the croissant plate when she sees him trying to dive in for more.

“It’s okay to be worried, Zuko. We all are. I just don’t want you to think we’re not all working as hard as we can to get your uncle back. It’s just…we’ve had a rough time, especially after Aang got injured. I don’t want us to rush in unprepared,” she says.

“No, no, it’s not like I think you’re wasting time, or anything like that!” Zuko responds frantically as he heats up more croissants for the rest of them.

Toph waves it away. “We know, bro. They’re just dancing around telling you that you need to stop blaming yourself for taking a break, because we all need one.”

“Toph-“ Aang starts.

“What, Twinkle Toes?” she asks. “You know he’s sitting there drowning in guilt and probably feeling useless, because he’s had to rely on us and Sokka to find Azula and now his uncle. It’s complete bullshit, and I’m done letting him wallow away. I doubt he’s even talked to Sokka much about this unless it just all came gushing out in a congealed mess of _feelings_.”

“Yeah, but Toph-“ Katara tries.

“Nah,” Zuko interrupts. “She’s not wrong. I’m just really scared that I won’t be able to help at all.”

“Look, Zuko,” Toph says patiently. “It’s pretty simple. I’m blind, right? So it’s not like I can drive. That doesn’t make me useless, right?”

“Of course not-“

“Yeah, exactly,” she cuts him off. “I’m pretty fucking badass. And so are you. You’ve just got a different skillset, and we didn’t end up needing it right this second. Stop acting like you have to ‘pull your weight,’ or we won’t want you around. I get that that’s not all you’re worrying about. But give us some fucking credit. We’re here because we like you and want to help you.”

Katara sighs. “Not quite the way I would have put it. But I agree with Toph. And look, with having to help Sokka figure out this Avatar stuff and get your uncle, we need to know that you’ll talk to us if you’re feeling like this.”

“And if you don’t feel like talking about it or can’t find the right words, write all your thoughts down or something. Even stream of consciousness it, if you have to,” Aang adds. “I get not wanting to air all your concerns with us. But part of getting our shit together right now is being okay with not being okay.”

“…thanks,” Zuko says after a moment. “I’m still working on the whole not bottling things up thing. And Sokka kind of already had to give me the same general lowdown last night.”

“The whole ‘the world doesn’t rest on your shoulders’ thing?” Katara asks.

“Yeah,” Zuko says, pushing a mug of tea around.

Aang rescues his mug and takes a sip. “Just don’t forget you have people who want to listen. If I had a nickel for every time I told you and Azula that, I’d be rich. Not even, a penny each time.”

“What if you have to keep reminding me?” Zuko says quietly.

“So?” Toph laughs. “We’ll keep reminding you. Nothing says friendship like knocking nonsense out of each other’s heads.”

oOo

“I’m sorry I just fell asleep last night,” Azula says eventually once they’re almost done analyzing the supplies that need to be ordered.

“Why are you sorry?” Suki asks, counting more cups.

“We don’t get many chances to spend time together right now with everything going on. So I’m sorry I just slept through-“

“Well, I’m not,” Suki says firmly.

“I’m sorry, what?”

“I’m not sorry,” Suki repeats.

Azula thinks she probably still looks confused, because Suki cracks a smile.

“I know you haven’t been sleeping well,” she says. “So if you’re able to sleep even a little bit when I’m around, that’s okay with me. I’m just happy that you got a full night’s rest. We’ll have other chances to spend time together, you know.”

Azula sighs. “Sometimes, you’re honestly one of the most understanding people I know.”

Suki stares. “Seriously? You’re now friends with the whole gang, and you’re telling me _I’m_ the most understanding person you know?”

“You’re right, that’s Aang,” Azula says immediately.

Suki laughs. “You know, he wasn’t always like that. He used to be just another dumbass. Sometimes, he’d get really absorbed in his role as being the Avatar and would sometimes be so sure he’d have to do everything by himself. And sometimes, Sokka would have to smack some sense into him. He’d keep saying ‘if you think I’m going to let anyone, let alone one of my best friends deal with this alone, you have another thing coming.’ I think once Aang mellowed out a bit and got used to the idea that we weren’t going away even when things got dangerous, he finally had time to become half as understanding as he is now.”

“I really need to talk to this boy more,” Azula muses.

Suki’s phone dings.

She chuckles and shows the text to Azula.

_11:42 AM would you just give her my phone number already?? Why is everyone hogging Azula?? I wanna be friends with her, too >.<_

“Well, it appears you’ve received strict instructions from the Avatar,” Azula says, raising her eyebrows. “It seems it would be best if I texted him.”

oOo

A few hours later, Zuko closes up the tea shop early. The rest of the gang heads out with promises to be back again sometime the next day to hopefully figure out a way to train Sokka.

In the meantime, Zuko pulls off his apron and grabs his car keys.

“You ready to go to your apartment, Azula?”

She gulps before nodding in determination.

oOo

“Azula?”

“Aang, I’m sorry, I just…called the first number I saw honestly.”

“Don’t apologize! Everything okay?”

“No…no, it’s all fucking bullshit. My apartment was torn apart. I was able to rescue pretty much all of the important things and my clothes and personal items, but I just can’t right now.”

“It was still your place. And it sounds like you put a lot of time and effort into making it a place you wanted to live in. Are you still with Zuko?”

“Yeah, he’s- he’s making us dinner or something. He said to shout if I need anything, but Aang, he’s already dealing with so much, I didn’t want to dump this on him right this second. Oh, fuck, I’m sorry, I’m just telling you all of this instead-“

“Azula, I really don’t mind. I get that we’re not super close, but I really do get where you’re coming from. I know what it’s like to not want to add to other people’s problems. I think that just makes it more important to reach out when you can. I know, when you’re ready, Zuko is going to be happy to hear from you. I think he needs it honestly. You’re the only two people who have any idea what growing up with your father was like. Even if you have completely different experiences. He still knows you.”

Azula’s voice is barely a whisper. “What if he doesn’t?”

“What if he doesn’t know you?”

“What if he doesn’t know what it’s like? I was our father’s favorite. Half the reason I feel like shit right now is because I know he’s capable of this, but it’s always been directed at Zuko. And there’s always been a tiny, awful part of me that’s just glad it wasn’t me.”

“That just makes you human, Azula. It’s not like you, who you are now, would want anything like that to happen to Zuko. I think he’d understand more than you think. If anything, he’s going to understand the helplessness that comes from feeling like you can’t talk about this to each other.”

“When did you get so good at this?” Azula says wetly.

“At what?” Aang laughs.

“The whole listening and advice-giving thing,” she replies.

“A long time ago, Sokka told me that I wasn’t alone in being the Avatar. But he also said, because I felt like shit for not mastering the elements, that being the Avatar is more about being the person other people can go to for support than about being the most powerful person in the room.”

“So…it’s like a job to you?” she says uncomfortably.

“No, no, no,” Aang responds. “It’s like if I’m not the most badass or the one with all the plans or whatever, I’m at least trying to be there for people when I can. So I worked really hard on being less self-absorbed and actually started listening to my friends.”

“Are we friends?” she asks.

“Come on, Azula,” he says. “Of course. We’ve already adopted you. Deal with it.”

Azula laughs. “You’re not so bad, Twinkle Toes.”

“I keep forgetting you’re friends with Toph,” Aang groans.

“I am,” Azula replies smugly. “With all the names that go with that. I don’t mean to run, but I actually think Zuko’s calling me for dinner, so on a serious note, thank you for listening.”

“Of course,” he replies. “Enjoy your dinner.”

“Thanks, Aang. Night.”

Azula smooths out the sleeve she’d been worrying between her fingers and leaves her room.

Zuko takes one look at her when she walks out and immediately goes back to the kitchen.

He returns with two bowls of pho and two mugs of Earl grey tea.

“These don’t even go together,” she says in feigned shock.

“You look like you could use something nice,” he says gruffly as they sit down.

She sighs.

“Thanks, Zuzu,” she says while she fishes out some noodles.

oOo

“I’m going to wipe the floor with you!” she shrieks.

“Not if I throw this banana peel at you first,” Zuko says smugly.

“You sure about that?” Azula asks, watching as he accidentally puts the peel down far away from her.

“Oh, fuck you,” he responds sullenly.

“I told you not to try to beat me at Mario Kart, but did you listen?”

There’s a moment of silence as they make another lap.

“Holy shit, Zuko, did you just slip on your own banana peel??”

Naturally, Azula comes in first place.

Zuko congratulates her before spending a good couple minutes cursing bananas.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for reading as well as for the comments, kudos, and bookmarks! I know I still have editing and comments to get to, and I will at some point soon. This chapter...is my longest yet at 5054 words, which is almost double the usual chapter lengths. I hope this doesn't feel too much like having the same conversation multiple times with different people. But I think I really wanted to show that Zuko just hasn't been having a very good time. Honestly, everyone's losing their minds a little, and I think I wanted multiple people to be like 'Hey, Zuko, talk to us." For any character acting OOC, I really tried, but sometimes, it just doesn't come out quite right. Also, for anyone who catches my kinda vague Harry Potter reference, you win a prize! Hope you enjoy!


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which there is the powerhouse of the gang, pizza, and texting, not in that order.

The tea shop is quiet.

When Sokka arrives this early, he gets to put his feet up and relax for maybe the only time that day. Zuko or Azula will come downstairs soon, and slowly, the place will fill up with customers. Until then, he’s lounging around, holding a mug of oolong tea. Nothing too fancy this morning, but he’s having fun swirling the now faintly warm liquid.

He doesn’t get much alone time these days.

Everyone has so much going on, but they’re all meeting up at the tea shop frequently now. He knows how well Zuko’s been coping with everything- basically not at all. But he hasn’t had a chance to talk to most of the others. They’ve all mostly got each other.

He wills a small flame into existence and carefully re-heats his tea.

He hides a grin. He’s been practicing all morning, edging closer and closer to the sink each time. But he thinks he might actually have this part down. It’s not that impressive, but he thinks it’s a start.

oOo

Maybe ten minutes later, Azula makes her way downstairs. Her hair is up in a messy bun, and she’s wearing a cozy sweater and leggings. Her boots look like they cost more than his apartment.

“Is that fire I see?” she smirks.

Sokka closes his palm hastily.

“Nope! No, nothing to see here. You know I can’t firebend-“

“Relax, relax,” Azula says, waving her hand. “I’m not going to tell Zuko you were firebending without supervision. And now that I’m here, it’s not exactly unsupervised, is it?”

He slowly unclenches his fingers.

“It’s- it’s just really pretty,” he says quietly, staring at the tiny flame.

“I know,” Azula responds smugly, moving closer to sit down in a chair next to his. “Despite all of my father’s shit, he didn’t manage to take away my love of firebending. It’s just so different from anything else I can do, you know? I imagine other benders feel the same way about their elements.”

“Yeah,” he laughs. “Aang and I used to talk about airbending all the time. I think it’s such an extension of himself, he can’t imagine not having it?”

Azula nods. “I can’t even imagine being without it. Not that I knew much about bending before meeting all of you. I’m guessing it’s similar for all the elements though.

“I’m not sure,” Sokka replies. “I think all of you talk about it so differently? Katara always told me that waterbending is less you controlling the water and more convincing it to go where you want it to go. And Zuko made it sound like firebending requires more input from you than that.”

“Like you’re in control and it’s up to you what you’re trying to do?” Azula asks.

“Something like that,” Sokka shrugs as he takes another sip of his tea. He pulls a face at the cool liquid.

“Need a hand?” Azula says, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah,” Sokka replies, smiling ruefully. “Do you mind?”

“Not at all,” Azula grins. “You’re going to do it. You’re the firebender.”

“Ah, shit.”

oOo

Ten minutes and a few smoking napkins later, Sokka is the proud owner of a warm mug of tea.

“That’s a new meaning to trial by fire,” he says.

Azula just laughs as she slides off the chair. “You’ll get more used to it eventually. It’s just new. You’re already progressing much faster than we expected. Don’t be afraid to take your time with this. We’re not expecting you to master all of the elements tonight.”

Sokka cracks his knuckles. “Thanks, Azula.”

“Anything for Zuko’s love interest,” she smirks.

“That’s never getting old, I guess,” he sighs.

“Never,” Azula grins. “Anyway, I should be going.”

“Where are you off to?”

“I’m everyone’s chauffeur today. Apparently, Katara wants to hang out…with me? Your sister is tenacious by the way. She didn’t have my number, so she kept texting Zuko until he told me this morning.”

He shrugs. “Persistence runs in the family.”

“Sokka, she texted twenty times,” Azula says.

“Yeah, we’re all pretty intense when we’re trying to befriend people. You might as well just give her your number. I promise it’ll make things easier. Are you coming here to hang out?”

“Not sure yet. I think I’m just going to let her decide. I’m also…bringing Suki over, because she wants to see how Zuko is doing?”

“…not that it’s a problem, but I didn’t know they talked at all?” he says slowly.

“I don’t think they do,” Azula chuckles. “I think Suki is determined to get to know him better.”

“They’re going to be best friends by the end of the day then,” Sokka says firmly.

Azula smiles. “Suki doesn’t really do casual. It’s either all her effort, or you’re an acquaintance.”

“I think Suki just doesn’t have time for bullshit.”

“She’s dealt with so much social anxiety and so many other things. I think she doesn’t like to spend time agonizing about even more stuff outside her control.”

“I still feel bad I didn’t even know about it,” Sokka replies. 

“She didn’t expect you to,” Azula says firmly.

oOo

“Seriously? A little warning next time,” he says, nursing his shoulder.

Sokka doubles over with laughter.

“It’s not- hahaha- my- hahaha- fault that- just, wow, Zuko. Haha, ahem, it’s not my fault you can’t see me with my hair down without ramming into something. What did you even do this time?” he eventually manages to get out.

“Ihitthedoor,” Zuko mumbles.

“You hit the door?” Sokka cackles.

“Just shut up and bring you and your stupid hair over here,” Zuko says. “I’m going to need some ice.”

And that just sets Sokka off again.

oOo

“I’m heading to class in a second, alright?” Sokka shouts.

“Are you going to be back later?” Zuko responds, emerging from the back room.

“Yeah, I’ll be back in an hour or so. I just wanted to see you and your lovely face this morning,” Sokka says, placing his hands on Zuko’s cheeks.

Zuko pulls away slightly.

“What’s wrong?” Sokka asks.

“I just…you just touched my scar-“

“Oh, shit! I’m so sorry, Zuko. I really didn’t even notice-“

“How did you not even notice?” Zuko says, sounding incredulous. “It’s huge and right fucking there. How you are not disgusted by it? It’s hideous-”

“Uh, hold up a second, buddy. It’s not hideous. It’s just part of your face. I’m not going to be disgusted by that.”

“But Sokka-“ Zuko replies, running a hand through his hair. “How can you just-“

“Pretty easily, buddy. I promise this was an accident, but I won’t touch it in the future if it bothers you. I just don’t want you thinking that I find it gross. I think your father is a heinous piece of shit, but I don’t find you or your face anything else than extremely attractive.”

Zuko’s quiet for a moment. “Really?”

“Yeah,” Sokka says quietly.

“…okay,” Zuko says. “Would you- would you mind avoiding the scar for now? I don’t mind you touching it in theory, but…”

“No problem. I promise I’ll be more mindful of it.”

“You don’t want an actual reason or something?” Zuko asks in surprise.

“Nah,” Sokka smiles. “Making you uncomfortable is a good enough reason. Or even if you’re fine with it, but just don’t know how to feel about it yet, you asking me not to is more than enough.”

“Seriously? That’s it?”

“Yeah,” Sokka shrugs, tucking his hands in the pockets of his jeans. “That’s it. I told you we’re not doing anything that makes one of us uncomfortable, and if that means not putting my hand on your cheek, it’s not an issue at all.”

Zuko hesitantly pulls him into a hug.

“Sorry, I’m like this-“

“Sorry??” Sokka shrieks, pushing away hastily to do air quotes. “Why are you sorry? For what? Making me ‘go out of my way’ to be aware of something that makes you uncomfortable?”

“Kind of?” Zuko responds, feeling like it’s the wrong answer.

Sokka puffs up. “That’s called being a considerate fucking person! It has nothing to do with being in a relationship with you.”

“…thanks,” Zuko says, and leans in.

oOo

The kiss is softer and more tentative than most of their others. Sokka knows he’s running the risk of being late, but he just puts an arm around Zuko’s waist and forgets about class for a moment.

oOo

_9:09 AM zukooooo, I was late and he made me sit in front again. I think he’s also going to make me come to office hours later, so I won’t be able to come see you T.T come beat him up for me_

_9:10 AM Aren’t you the Avatar? You control all the elements. You teach him who’s boss._

_9:15 AM zuko, I can’t just stick my professor in a bottle_

_9:20 AM ¯\\_(_ _ツ_ _)_/¯ That sounds like a you problem, buddy._

_9:20 AM ugh, remind me why we’re dating again_

_9:21 AM Arms of a god._

_9:22 AM yeah, your fucking arms, zuko. I really need to write those sonnets_

_9:23 AM What sonnets? We’ve got a lot more customers, so I should probably go talk to them._

_9:24 AM zuko!!! were you hiding in the back, talking to little old me??_

_9:24 AM No…maybe. Go work on your sonnets._

_9:26 AM oh, alright. Go work your day job. See you later, babe_

_9:27 AM <3_

_9:27 AM zuko???? did you use a heart emoji???_

_9:28 AM No._

_9:29 AM buddy, I can scroll up. It’s right there._

_9:30 AM Nope, it’s clearly an illusion. You should get your vision checked. I’ll talk to you later, Sokka. Hope office hours don’t crush your soul._

_9:30 AM thanks, babe. Catch you later <3_

oOo

Zuko is not surprised when Katara pushes open the door of the tea shop. There’s a lull in customers, probably the eye in the storm before the lunch rush.

She slowly unwraps her scarf and walks closer to the counter.

“How’s it going, Zuko?” she asks, friendly enough.

Zuko sees Azula and Suki come in behind her.

“Same old,” he replies, putting a mug away. “I think Azula wanted to talk to you about something.”

Azula is glaring at him and miming cutting his throat, but of course, when Katara turns around, she only has a blandly pleasant expression on her face.

Zuko smirks while Katara’s back is turned.

“She’d find you,” he mouths.

Azula sighs. “Want to go upstairs, Katara? We can chill while Suki helps Zuko get stuff ready. Maybe we could all eat lunch a bit later?”

“If you don’t mind making that a late lunch,” Zuko says as he dries his hands. “I’m planning on closing up the shop around 1pm today.”

“That sounds good,” Katara says, smiling at Zuko before she follows behind Azula.

“It’s just right up here,” he hears Azula say.

“She’s very persistent, isn’t she?” Zuko says once they’re out of earshot.

“Yeah,” Suki says. “She’s the powerhouse of the gang. I don’t think she ever really learned to slow down until she started dating Aang. She’s just overall so fucking impressive. And I think she wants to get to know Azula at least a bit. I could see how Azula might feel a little left out given how close the rest of us are. She hasn’t kept up with many of her other friends that I know of.”

“Basically no one,” Zuko nods. “It’s kind of hard when you can’t explain most of your home life and your bending. Not saying Azula doesn’t have more going on in her life, but with everything going on…”

“It seems like a lot of other things got sidelined. Especially now, after all the stuff with your father.”

Zuko grimaces. “I think it just makes everything harder. Her friends definitely know of him. And who’s going to believe Azula if she says anything bad about him. I think at some point she just decided being isolated was better than not being believed.”

Suki sighs and sits down, slowly pulling off her jacket.

“I think Katara is just trying to get to know her a bit more. We’re all struggling right now. And it’s really easy to feel left out with how big this group is. I used to feel like I didn’t belong, too,” she says.

Zuko stops fumbling with the hem of the apron. “Really? But you seem like you’ve known them forever.”

“Yeah…but I wasn’t part of the gang, you know? I just showed up occasionally, saved their asses, and then disappeared again. It wasn’t until I started dating Sokka actually that I started getting- oh, wow, sorry. It must be super awkward to hear about me dating him-“ she stops, pushing her hair out of her face.

“No, no, it’s okay,” Zuko says, trying to sound reassuring. “I know he dated people before me. It’s a little…awkward, but I mean, half my life is a bundle of awkward, so it doesn’t bother me. What were you going to say?”

“Oh, um, just that I don’t think they really included me as much until they realized I was going to stick around. I was really worried what was going to happen when we broke up, but Aang, who I was objectively not as close to, just told me I was going to be there the next time we all hung out. Didn’t ask,” she laughs. “He just told me that my presence was required. And I went. Sokka and I pretty much avoided each other, but otherwise, it was really nice? I thought I was going to lose my whole friend group. I think things got better after I started dating your sister.”

“Did Katara stop glaring at you like you were public enemy #1?” Zuko grins.

“Eventually,” Suki says wryly. “I don’t think she was even particularly mad at me exactly? I think it was more the whole situation. Like I think she was expecting Sokka to sit around pining for me. Things got better once I started dating Azula, because I think Katara knew that I definitely wasn’t looking to get back together with Sokka.”

“She’d do anything for him, wouldn’t she?” Zuko muses.

“Yeah, pretty much. They used to gripe and get on each other’s nerves a lot more, but they’ve both mellowed a bit in different ways. All the stuff trying to sabotage your father and get Appa back really put things in perspective for them. There were a few times Sokka almost died doing something extremely risky. That’s not really my story to tell though.”

“…that sounds like a lot,” Zuko says.

“Yeah, it was,” she responds.

“Well, I don’t really know what to do with that. So do you want some tea?” he asks.

“Sure,” she smiles.

“Any specific requests?”

“Surprise me?” Suki says. “I’m not very picky.”

“Yeah, sure thing,” he replies, turning around to start making the tea.

“Anything new with you?” she asks once his hands are busy.

“Nightmares as usual,” he says over his shoulder.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

He sighs.

“Not really,” he says honestly. “But I probably should.”

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to-“ she starts.

“It’s okay,” Zuko cuts her off gently. “It’s mostly the same stuff I’ve been worrying about already. Not being able to get Uncle back, losing Azula…and more recently, losing Sokka.”

“Ah, I see.”

“I don’t really know how to tell him,” Zuko admits. “I know I want to, even though it’ll probably just worry him-“

“Okay, let me just stop you right there,” Suki responds, tucking her hands under her thighs to warm them up. “If you want to be with Sokka, you have to figure out right now how to be as up front as you possibly can. That’s one of the reasons we worked so well for so long. He’s going to tell you how he feels, or whether there’s an issue as soon as he’s able to. People think he just talks to fill the silence sometimes, and I’m not saying he doesn’t, but he’s really good about not letting problems fester. It’s not about blurting something out without thinking about it. He just doesn’t want the other person to be anxious about what he’s thinking when he could just tell you. So…my point is, he doesn’t need or want you to decide what he can or can’t handle hearing, because he’s not going to make those decisions for you.”

“…you’re right,” Zuko says, leaning against the counter while he waits for the water to boil. “I’m going to tell him. I just have to process a bit first.”

“I get that,” Suki replies, swinging her legs back and forth. “Take whatever time you need, but you don’t have to avoid telling him things just because he’s under a lot of pressure right now. If he really wanted you to not talk about it, he’d tell you. He’s probably even more straightforward about it than Azula is.”

Zuko laughs. “Is that even possible?”

“Yeah, surprisingly,” she smiles. “Sokka has this theory that people keep too many things to themselves- like that whole thing about keeping their cards close to their chest or vest or whatever? One time, he was telling me that if you extend that analogy to relationships, you’re trying to take two separate decks and mix them together, right? And you want to shuffle and take out the jokers and stuff, and end up with what is that 48 cards? I don’t know, that’s math.”

“Something like that,” Zuko grins back, starting to pour her tea.

“Yeah, who cares,” she says. “Anyway, so when you’re trying to make this one giant deck, there’s still two separate decks worth of cards, or it doesn’t work. And he has this whole idea that too many people keep most of their cards close and you can’t possibly have a functional relationship then. It’s like having one deck and a few cards, which is useless. So basically, people just keep the smallest issues to themselves instead of addressing them and they keep adding up until they’re contributing zero cards to the joint deck.”

“That makes sense, I think,” Zuko replies, placing a mug in front of her.

“I like to think so. And wow, Zuko, this is so good,” she smiles after taking a sip. “What kind of tea is this?”

“Passionflower tea,” he says. “Uncle could tell you all these random health benefits that his customers have noticed over the years, but I think it just tastes nice.”

Suki slowly has another sip. “I think this is the anxiety one actually…so thanks, Zuko.”

He pours himself a mug as well.

“Sounds like something I need, too,” he says wryly, before reaching out with his mug.

Suki just laughs and clinks it with her own. “You’re in good company then.”

oOo

“Can I get you anything?” She’s nothing if not a polite host.

“Water, if you wouldn’t mind?” Katara replies, sitting down on the edge of the couch.

“Of course,” Azula says.

After placing a water bottle down on the coffee table in front of the other girl, Azula flops down dramatically next to her.

“Thank you,” Katara smiles.

“So how are things with you?” Azula asks.

“Not as bad as they could be, but also kind of worse,” Katara says.

“Oh, we’re going right into it then.”

Katara laughs. “Look, I know we don’t know each other that well. But I think we can relate on one level at least? People we care about are in danger.”

“You could say that,” Azula nods in agreement.

“And we’ve both recently had really stressful experiences. You with your father, and me with…trying to heal Aang.”

“I’m sorry,” Azula softens a bit, even though she’s still a little uncomfortable. “I didn’t really understand why you were here, but we’ve both been through a lot.”

“I think,” Katara starts, “I don’t have many people to talk to about this. I know everyone would be willing to listen-“

“But sometimes, it’s nice getting someone who doesn’t know you as well to listen?”

“Yeah,” she says. “And I want to hear about how you’re doing, too. I can’t even imagine what you’ve been dealing with. I don’t expect you to tell me anything if you don’t want to, but I…just wanted to stop by today to say I’d like to be your friend outside of just strictly finding your uncle and so on.”

“I think I’d like that,” Azula responds. “Do you mind if…it’s not now though?”

“Not now works for me,” Katara laughs. “I’m actually kind of hungry?”

Azula smiles with too many teeth.

“I can bully Zuko into cooking for us.”

“Excellent,” Katara says. “But I’m going to bully you into taking my phone number. In fact, I’m giving you the number of everyone in the gang’s that you don’t have.”

“…I think that might actually…just be you now?” Azula says hesitantly.

“I’m sorry, what? You have Aang’s number, but you don’t have mine??”

“Maybe you did give it to me? And I misplaced it?” Azula tries.

“Misplaced how?? Why wouldn’t I just put it in your phone?”

“I don’t know Just- just, here,” she says, handing Katara her phone. “Could you just give it to me again?”

“Of course,” Katara sighs. “But this better be really good pizza.”

“Trust me. Zuko’s quite good,” Azula says proudly.

“Trust you?” Katara smirks. “You lost my phone number. How exactly are you trustworthy again?”

Azula just groans and leads the way back downstairs.

oOo

“You know you could just ask me to cook?” Zuko says.

“Where’s the fun in that?” Azula responds, kneading the dough as directed.

“No, no, what are you doing?” Zuko shouts, putting his head in his hands. “We’re making pizza, not pasta!”

oOo

Suki steers him to the bathroom once the pizza is in the oven. Katara is busy cleaning up the kitchen, because she’s clearly the only one Zuko can trust.

“You’re pale enough without adding a coating of flour,” Suki says, somehow muffling her laughter.

Zuko just sighs as he scrubs his face clean. It’s clearly all Azula’s fault.

oOo

The pizza does end up delicious though.

Katara and Suki gleefully have lots of leftovers to take home.

“Seriously, Zuko, you can’t let Aang know you can cook like this. You’ll get another boyfriend,” Katara laughs.

“I thought he and Sokka were already a package deal?” Zuko smiles as he washes his hands.

“Yeah, one doesn’t just date Sokka without getting immediately adopted by the rest of us,” Katara says, tossing him a towel.

Zuko grins a bit wider. “I’m kind of starting to get that.”

oOo

_5:17 PM Just wanted to let you know that your boyfriend knows that you did some risky stuff to help Aang. I didn’t give any details, but it kind of came up by accident, so just wanted you to know he heard that from me._

_5:23 PM uh…okay, thanks, suki_

_5:23 PM I’m sorry :( I swear I didn’t mean to bring it up._

_5:23 PM don’t worry about it. It was bound to come up eventually. It’s not like I hide that I usually don’t go out much for gaang-related stuff anymore. Unless we need the manpower_

_5:24 PM Maybe he’ll forget?_

_5:25 PM nah, it’s zuko lol. It’s really okay. Please don’t stress about it. I’ll just talk to him about it soon_

_5:25 PM Okay, Sokka. If you’re sure. Hope you have a good night. I’ll see you soon._

_5:27 PM see you, suki!!! :D_

oOo

“Hey, Azula, how’s it going?

“Is this thing working?” she asks, tapping at the screen.

“Yeah, stop tapping,” Sokka laughs. “I can see you just fine.”

“Ugh, technology. I just wanted a normal call.”

“Facetime is fine, Azula,” he laughs. “What’s up?”

“What did you say to my brother?” she asks over the phone.

“Not much…I don’t think?” Sokka responds, propping his phone up.

“Well, you must have said something, because he’s been dancing around while making dinner. Even more than usual.”

“…Zuko dances while he cooks??” Sokka picks up the phone properly at that.

“Never mind that,” she cuts him off in amusement. “What did you talk about today?”

“Uh, it was only in the morning, but I accidentally touched his scar, and we talked about it a bit, I guess. Not about what happened. But I just said of course, I’d be more mindful of not touching it if he was uncomfortable or didn’t know how to feel about it. It’s not like I need more of a reason than that.”

“…that would do it,” she says after a moment.

“What?”

“You know of that other guy he dated a while back, right? The one who didn’t want to meet me?”

Sokka can see her frown turn moderately murderous.

“Yeah, that asshat. I don’t know much about him other than that though.”

“That’s probably as much as you need to know about that utter loser. But he didn’t really like Zuko’s scar. Honestly, even the girl he dated before that made some comment about how ‘his face would be perfect if he didn’t have it,’” she says, tapping her nails on the table in front of her.

“…tell me you made her regret that,” Sokka eventually responds, switching the phone to his other hand.

“Someone reported her for all the essays she plagiarized off of Zuko. She never did find out who.”

Sokka whistles. “You’re brilliant.”

“What? No, ‘that’s terrifying’ or ‘how could you do that?’” she asks.

“I’m assuming she actually was copying Zuko’s essays and saying shit like that.”

“Yes, but-“

“Then no, it’s not terrifying. It sounds like you stood up for your brother and didn’t get a ton of blow back on you or him. So…in my book, that’s brilliant.”

“I can see why he’s with you,” she says.

“I’m guessing that’s a good thing?” he replies.

“That’s definitely a good thing,” she says in amusement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading! I also appreciate the comments, kudos, and bookmarks! They really do mean a lot to me :) This chapter is a lot of talking, but it's between a few people who haven't actually talked a lot before. I swear Toph was going to be in this chapter, but I had to push her to the next one. I also have a bit of texting between some of the characters. Nothing super major, but I apologize if that's not your thing. I didn't label them, but it's only two people texting at a time, and I think I've included enough names and other indications to make it pretty clear who is who. If not, let me know!
> 
> Yes, powerhouse of the gang, is a cheesy rip off of mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell, I'm a science major in grad school, so sue me lol. There's some other vague reference in there to some thing else I can't remember at the moment. I still have editing to do ;( I have time for either writing a new chapter or editing right now, so I keep choosing writing. Hope you'll forgive me (and for how long these end notes are.)
> 
> Also, I've officially written over 50k for this fic (according to Word)! I really can't believe it. I thought this was going to be 3 chapter long lol. But here we are at chapter 20. Real life is a bit crazy right now, but I promise I am going to continue updating and will finish this fic. I think I'm surprised that I've gotten this far for a lot of reasons, but for one, I don't really write dialogue. I used to avoid it like the plague, because it always felt so stilted. So of course, I started writing an extremely dialogue heavy fic XD I think I'm getting more comfortable with it. Anyway, hope you continue to enjoy! I have plans for the upcoming chapter, so sit tight until then. Thank you again!


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which there is shawarma, possible motives, and Aang, not necessarily in that order.

“Hey, there-.”

“Toph, I think Sokka needs to learn earthbending.”

“Well, no shit, buddy. But he isn’t exactly good at water or firebending yet-“

“I know, I know, but I keep thinking about how we don’t have that much time and maybe we should work on all the elements together-“

“Princess.”

Zuko falls quiet.

“I think you need to chill a second. I know it feels like we don’t have much time, and you’re not wrong. But rushing lover boy through this isn’t going to fix anything. Sure, it’s fucking shady that your dad hasn’t done anything, since taking your uncle really, but that doesn’t mean we can rush into things. Do you really think we’re ready to storm the castle right now?”

Zuko groans. “I know we’re not ready! But we’re never going to learn anything if Uncle’s just stuck in there. There has to be a way to get him out without getting caught.”

“I’m all ears, buddy. But unless we have a half-decent plan, there’s no way we’re going to try. I’d rather your dad think one kid is dead and that we’re scrambling.”

“We _are_ scrambling,” Zuko mutters.

“Yeah, but this is intentional scrambling,” Tophs says, sounding amused. “Not chicken with its head cut off. We don’t really have much in the way of the element of surprise, so I’m going to take what we can get.”

oOo

“You’ve been avoiding me.”

“Have not,” Zuko says childishly, refusing to turn away from the water he’s boiling.

“A bit,” Aang replies in amusement, his chuckle turning into a grimace when he leans against the counter.

“…yeah, a bit,” Zuko acknowledges with a sigh.

“You’re not quite at the point where you’re sprinting away from me, but we also haven’t talked.”

“That’s fair,” Zuko says, finally turning around to face Aang.

Aang stares at him for a second. “How are you doing?”

“Fine,” Zuko replies automatically.

Aang just looks at him.

Zuko wants it noted that he manages to maintain eye contact for a few seconds. He doesn’t cave instantaneously.

It’s still embarrassingly quick though. He ducks his head away.

“Okay, maybe not so fine.”

Aang hums quietly and shifts slightly against the counter.

The whistle of the teapot interrupts them. Zuko turns around to start pouring.

“I keep thinking about a lot of things. Nightmares and stuff. But it’s…easier not to talk to you. I know you’re not holding it against me, but I didn’t even know you’d been shot…let alone multiple times.”

Zuko turns and places two mugs of tea in front of him, nudging one closer to Aang.

Aang grins softly. “Thanks. You know you had a lot on your mind then, right? It’s not like you were trying to ignore me bleeding out on the backseat. I didn’t even really tell you. If you knew, would it have changed anything?”

“Yes!” Zuko says hotly. “What do you mean would it have changed anything? I would’ve at least tried to help you. Kept pressure on the wounds or something-“

“Exactly,” Aang responds, cutting him off. “If you’d known, you would’ve done something. But you didn’t. You had a lot going on, and I know this doesn’t actually make anything easier, but I’m going to keep reminding you that I don’t blame you.”

Zuko just stares at him.

“Why?” he asks eventually.

Aang sips his tea slowly. “Why what?”

“Why are you so willing to be there to tell me that it’s not my fault? And just be so nice in general. My father’s the enemy. He probably wiped out all the airbenders-“

“Buddy, unless you personally did that, I’m not going to hate you.”

“But it was my family! And-“

“And nothing,” Aang says, placing his mug on the counter with a loud clink. “You’re not your father, are you? Are you mad at Azula for things that your father did to you?”

“That’s different though-“

“Zuko, look,” Aang says, starting to sound frustrated. “There’s going to be plenty of things that people are going to hate you for in life. There’s no point in inventing more reasons and putting words in their mouth. I get that you’re dealing with a lot right now, but it’s also not my job to constantly remind you that no, actually, I don’t hate your guts just because your father is an asshat. I get needing reassurance. I get wanting to talk about this stuff, but you’re not the only one going through shit right now. And if we have to do this song and dance every single time I want to have a conversation with you, it’s going to get old really fucking fast.”

Zuko doesn’t say anything for a moment.

Aang runs a hand down his face. “Look, I’m sorry. That came out a lot harsher than I meant it to-“

“You’re not wrong though,” Zuko replies tiredly, flopping down onto a stool.

“No, no, it’s not that I don’t want to talk about this stuff with you-”

“Aang, it’s cool-“ Zuko starts.

“No,” Aang says firmly over him. “I’m sorry for how I said it, but I’m not sorry for what I said.”

Zuko swirls his mug, staring at the circulating tea leaves.

“I’m sorry,” he says. “It’s really hard to shut off the anxiety sometimes. But it’s also not fair to you if I just constantly question why you care. It’s kind of just making this all about me. I didn’t even ask how you’ve been doing. So how are things with you?”

Aang laughs. “You know, the usual, waking up thinking you’re dead. Feeling Suki slamming her hands over gaping wounds in your side. Knowing it’s not enough. Just sitting around like an asshole until you lose consciousness. So yeah, I’m not doing so great.”

Zuko sucks in a breath. “Have you talked to Katara about any of this?”

“…not really. It’s not that I don’t want to. Because I know she’s also got buckets of trauma from trying to heal me. It’s just really hard to talk about this stuff. Like I died, Zuko. I knew most Avatars have an early expiration date. But no enemy ever really turned up, so I was kind of hoping…that maybe I was the exception. And now…I actually died. I could’ve left Katara, wrist deep in my insides. I keep thinking about how I’d never see her again. Or Sokka. Like I love Katara. But Sokka’s my best bro, you know?”

“I can get the gist,” Zuko says. “When Azula went missing…”

Aang nods. “The idea of never seeing his stupid ass smile or having him sling an arm around my neck- he’s been a really important part of my life for awhile now. He, out of pretty much everyone in the gang, really understands how dangerous being the Avatar can be. And he’s still come through for me so many times. And now, he’s in the same position. And I just don’t know how to deal with my stuff and help him right now.”

“…we spend a lot of time trying to pretend that we’re okay,” Zuko says finally. “And I think we might have to just except that we aren’t right now and move on. My father isn’t going away. And at some point, we’re going to have to get our shit together. It’s okay…if it’s not right now.”

“Yeah,” Aang replies bitterly. “But there’s this delicate fucking balance between repressing and dealing later that I haven’t quite worked out which I’m doing yet.”

Zuko huffs in amusement. “You and me both.”

oOo

Katara isn’t actually sleeping when her phone rings, but she pretends to stifle a yawn anyway.

“Sokka? It’s like 2am. What’s up?”

“So…Katara, I had a hunch, and I don’t like it.”

Katara sighs. “Okay, but make it quick, because I’m going back to sleep in a couple minutes, whether I’m on the phone with you or not.”

“There’s no way you were actually asleep,” Sokka replies, sounding amused even with the slightly tinny quality of the call.

Katara huffs.

“Shut up, Sokka.”

Aang’s arm wraps a little more tightly around her, so she turns away and lowers her voice. “And hurry up a little, or I’ll wake up Aang.”

“Okay, I think Ozai is waiting for this comet, because badass firebenders, right? But what if he’s planning on taking over.”

“Taking over what?” Katara whispers furiously.

“I don’t know! Haven’t you seen X-men?” Sokka hisses back.

“Come on, Sokka, you think Ozai is going to go full on Magneto on the planet?”

Sokka is quiet for a second.

“What the hell, Sokka?’ Katara mutters. “Actually?”

“He’s the head of one of the biggest companies right now. He definitely has the manpower. He’s been quietly scooping up all the firebenders. And I’m pretty sure if I do some digging on other suspected benders, we’ll find that they’ve been quietly disappearing. So…”

“Why is it always world domination?” Katara groans as she pushes some hair out of her face. “Whatever happened to weirdos like Zhao who steal Appa for no reason?”

“…so I think he might’ve had a reason,” Sokka says in a rush.

“What, an esteemed general actually secretly works for Ozai, and he stole Appa because he thought he was a companion of the Avatar?”

There’s some more silence on the other end.

“Sokka, what the hell? Seriously?” she shrieks quietly.

“I know!” Sokka wails. “I didn’t look too much into it before, because you know, we were kind of focusing on getting Appa back. But I had a hunch last night and did some digging.”

“I think we really need Iroh to answer a lot of these questions, but I don’t even know when this comet is, so for all we know, we’re running out of time completely.”

“I’ve been looking into it. I found some stuff online, but it’s not super clear. The best I have right now is that it’s definitely coming up.”

“…I don’t think we have time for you to master all the elements, Sokka.”

“Yeah, that’s the other issue,” he says, sounding frustrated.

“it’s not your fault, Sokka.”

“I know. I’m trying my best, but it’s not fast enough. And now, I’m just not sure what to do.”

oOo

The next day, Zuko finds Sokka sitting at the counter with his hair down and bags under his eyes. He’s got numbers scrawled across one arm, and a pen between his teeth. He waves at Zuko, but Zuko’s not entirely convinced his boyfriend actually noticed him. So he quietly edges around Sokka to get behind the counter. He leans over to press a kiss to Sokka’s cheek.

The other boy is in the middle of turning to say something, so Zuko’s kiss awkwardly catches the corner of his mouth.

Sokka drops the pen he’s holding and stares forlornly as it rolls away.

He sighs and turns back to Zuko.

“Want to try that again?”

Zuko looks at the snapped hair tie on the counter and the creases in Sokka’s shirt.

He decides not to say anything and just steps closer to kiss him again.

oOo

They’re interrupted awhile later by the sound of the door opening.

Zuko steps back, hastily tucking Sokka’s shirt back into his pants.

Sokka looks at him in amusement, but he allows it. He reaches up and slowly tries to neaten the shaggy mess he made of Zuko’s hair.

Zuko just laughs and pushes his hand away.

“It’s kind of a lost cause at this point,” he says.

Sokka grins. “You look hot as hell regardless though.”

Zuko fights an answering grin. “And I’m not even wearing anything sleeveless today.”

Sokka groans. “Just shut up, Zuko. We have customers. I don’t need to imagine your biceps right now.”

oOo

“Do you mind if we invite everyone over tonight?” Sokka asks later during a lull in customers, idly twirling a new pen between his fingers.

Zuko just laughs. “You don’t really have to ask you know. You work here pretty much as often as I do. And they’re always welcome. Did you want to get food or something?”

“I actually…and feel free to say no, kind of want to make shawarma?”

“Are you just assuming I know how to make shawarma?” Zuko smirks.

“Not assuming…but maybe hoping?” Sokka replies sheepishly.

Zuko laughs again. “Yeah, yeah, I know how to make shawarma. Someone else better go grocery shopping though.”

oOo

“Hey,” Sokka says sheepishly, pushing open the door to let Suki maneuver a large bag of groceries inside.

“What’s up?” she replies, walking over the counter and putting everything down.

“Not much,” he replies nonchalantly, catching up to her at the counter.

“So you trying to tell me you asked us all here just for the pleasure of seeing our gorgeous faces?” she laughs.

“Uh, no, not exactly… but you mind if I just tell everyone at once?” he asks, helping her pull out ingredients.

Suki pauses to stare at him for a moment. Sokka wonders how tired he looks, because eventually, she just shrugs.

“Sure thing, Sokka. Whatever you need.”

oOo

The food actually turns out really well. Zuko’s very impressed with himself. He hasn’t made shawarma in a long time and definitely not in this quantity. Everyone else seems to be equally satisfied.

Azula nudges him and winks.

“You know, you’re quite the chef, Zuzu.”

Zuko just smiles back, but he’s quietly very happy.

oOo

Of course, it doesn’t last.

“So you figured out what the comet is?” Toph asks slowly.

“Not…exactly. Or well, I guess it’s more accurate to say not completely,” Sokka starts. “But I found some vague references in terms of dates…and it seems like it’s coming up. And we’ve also got another day to worry about.”

“Okay,” Katara says. “Can you back up a second? Where did you find this stuff? You just said some stuff online?”

“I did some googling about firebending legends. Most of it looks like complete bullshit, unless you do actually bathe in the blood of virgins?”

“Twice a month,” Azula says without batting an eye.

“New moon and full moon,” Zuko adds with a straight face. “Or we don’t stay young and beautiful.”

Toph cackles in response, elbowing Azula. “Your brother is finding his funny bone.”

“I’m just as surprised as you are,” Azula grins wickedly. “I swore he lost his sense of humor years ago.”

Zuko pinches her.

“Alright, alright,” Katara says after seeing Azula turn around with a terrifying smile. “What else did you find, Sokka?”

“So there’s the Day of the Black Sun and then the Day of Sozin’s Comet. It’s like two opposites…basically. Like the Black Sun thing is the day when firebenders are at their weakest and the Comet is the strongest.”

“So basically, eclipse type thing and giant ball of fire,” Suki replies. “Were you thinking about getting Iroh on the Day of Black Sun?”

“Got it in one,” Sokka nods.

“But Sokka, if that’s the upcoming eclipse…” Aang says, looking up from furiously typing on his phone.

“…yeah, it’s next week,” Sokka replies grimly.

“Well, fuck me sideways,” Toph mutters.

“What’s the plan exactly?” Suki asks.

“I think we have to assume that Ozai is going to expect us to try to get Iroh that day. So we need to be smart. We learn the layout. We get in, grab Iroh, get out. So this week will be hardcore planning.”

“Can we even pull this off?” Azula say doubtfully. “There’s a lot of variables we can’t account for.”

“I think we can do it,” Sokka replies. “It’ll take a lot of work, but the general stuff we need to iron out is how we’re going to get in, and some backup plans for how to get out. We also have to assume that Ozai is going to notice we’re in there at some point, and-“

“So we’re going to plan this week,” Katara cuts him off. “All the backup plans of the backup plans.”

She turns to Suki and Azula. “You up for some reconnaissance?”

“Of course,” Azula scoffs. “What do you take me for?”

“When did she get this shady?” Zuko whispers at Sokka.

“You could try asking me yourself, Zuzu. But honestly, you know what kind of work our father is in. I didn’t have to do anything too unscrupulous, but you can’t tell me you’ve never played the lookout or collected information for him.”

“Alright, fine, fine. I didn’t realize he was already having you do that stuff. It took a long time for him to trust me with anything. Anyway, what about the rest of you?” he asks. “Why all the vaguely illegal stuff?”

“Avatar shit,” Toph grins, waggling her eyebrows.

“Just go with it, Zuko,” Suki says. “The more questions you ask, the less sense it’ll make.”

Zuko just groans. “Alright, this all seems really fast.”

“Can’t really help it, Princess. Sokka probably figured out what we all figured out. We can’t just wait until he masters all the elements. And we need to get your uncle to figure out what he’s planning.”

“Uh…yeah, about that. Possible world domination.”

“I’m sorry, what?”

“You heard me, Azula. Okay, this is going to sound kind of stupid. But my best comparison is that your dad is probably going to use the comet to go full on Magneto.”

“And…do what?” Zuko asks.

“Magneto was the one who believed in mutant supremacy and wanted to expose them and stuff, right? So same idea. I think he wants to expose benders and I don’t know, rule the world or something.”

“How…sure are you that he’s acting like every comic book villain ever?” Toph asks.

“Pretty sure,” Sokka responds. “I can’t track his investments super closely right now, but he’s been making a shit ton of money, especially recently. Like he’s been involved in some major gentrification projects and he’s been experimenting with a lot of other industries right now. He’s basically got branches of his company involved in everything under the fucking sun. And he’s been swooping up benders for ages now. He’s probably gotten himself a fucking army at this point.”

“But…what is the plan exactly?” Suki says questioningly. “Like wanting to take over the world is great, but how exactly does he want to do it?”

“I don’t really know,” Sokka admits. “But I want to know why did he want Azula right now? And why take Iroh now? There were years in between of nothing happening. So what’s so important that he needs all hands on deck?”

They’re all silent for a moment.

“Okay,” Azula says. “I can’t quite process that right now. So we’re planning this week and then what?”

“Then we get your uncle back,” Sokka says grimly.

oOo

Almost everyone leaves in an hour or so, except Sokka.

He’s packing up all the odds and ends he’s left around from researching today when Zuko just puts a hand on his arm.

Sokka stills.

“Would you…would you mind if I stay over tonight?” he asks.

“Of course not,” Zuko says.

Zuko threads their fingers together and moves to lead him up the stairs.

oOo

Zuko jerks awake.

He’s blinking away dead eyes staring up from a tan face, a swirl of his sister’s dark hair falling farther and farther away from him, and his father’s mocking smile.

Sokka’s squeezing the life out of him.

It’s one of those nights though, and he doesn’t shift away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, it's been a little while. Real life is getting insanely busy, so this chapter is later and shorter than I would've liked. I hope you enjoy! As far as whether Sokka's theories are right...we'll see. I'm sorry for any errors while writing this. I'm ridiculously sleep deprived, so I hope you'll put up with it until I find some time to edit eventually. Anyway, thank you all for reading :) I appreciate all the kudos, bookmarks, and comments. Hope you continue enjoying this fic!


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which there are chatty guards, dungeons, and windows.
> 
> Warning: some suspense/injuries, but everyone is fine, even minor characters
> 
> Note: Also, to anyone who’d love to leave a comment, but is like me and totally blanks when they get there, I’d love to know what your favorite line/scene from this chapter is :)

Two men circle the property at a leisurely pace, flashlights in hand.

One pushes his curly mop of hair out of his eyes, eyeing his partner’s sleek ponytail enviously.

There’s a few sleepily-tweeting birds nestled in the trees backing up to the manor. Crickets are chirping happily enough. The air is crisp, inching closer to frigid as the sun sets.

He’s trying to ignore the steady pounding of a headache as it beats against his skull. Really should’ve gone for that coffee earlier, even if the manor’s is garbage.

He takes a deep breath, watching as it heats the cold air in front of his face.

His partner puts his flashlight between his teeth and removes the hair tie, long hair flowing about his shoulders. “What are we even doing here? It’s too cold for this shit.”

He scoffs at his taller partner to hide the shiver that runs through him at the sight of all that gorgeous hair. Still, he obligingly holds out a hand to create a small fire. “Are you a firebender or not? Just keep your eyes peeled. The Fire Lord will use us for target practice, if we let those kids slip by on our watch.”

“So?” the tall one asks, sidling closer towards the flame, shoulder brushing against his own. “We’ve been waiting around for practically weeks now. And I haven’t seen any fucking kids around here. Have you?”

“No, but-“

The tall one looks around theatrically. “Unless you’ve managed to squirrel them away in that extremely flattering suit of yours, there’s no kids on this entire fucking property. Pity that. Maybe they’d finally get that Fire Lord or whatever to loosen up a little.”

Curly Hair shushes him a bit frantically. “Would you keep your voice down? I’m not saying I disagree with you, but you know how it is. We aren’t paid to ask questions.”

“We aren’t paid to ask questions,” the other one says mockingly.

Curly Hair sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose.

“Look, just keep your hair on. We’re almost done this shift. And then we can get dinner, alright? I’ll even let you pick.”

His partner grins suddenly. “Even if it’s something you hate?”

He groans. “If it’ll get you to stop complaining about all of this, then yes.”

The other man wraps an arm around his waist. “And will you come over tonight?”

He brushes more curly hair out of his face to hide a smile behind his hand. “I’m over every night, you idiot. We live together.”

His partner just smirks and leans in to kiss him.

He opens his eyes after a while and pulls away slightly, because they’re still technically on the job for a little bit longer. There’s a blur of brown hair in his peripheral vision. He feels a sharp pain on his temple and knows no more.

oOo

He tugs the curly-haired man as gently as possible, following Suki as she pulls the other man back into the trees.

They lean them up against each other and pat them both down.

“Got that one’s radio?” she whispers to him.

Sokka nods.

The radio emits some static, and then the tinny sound of a voice comes out.

“Everything alright…there? We’re going to be there in five minutes, and you two lovebirds can head on home for the night. Over.”

Sokka clears his throat and presses the button to respond.

“Honestly, tonight’s been slow. Do you mind if we take off just a bit early today? Over,” he says in a hoarse voice.

“You don’t sound good at all, buddy. Take off early. Take your boy home as well. I’ll see you tomorrow. Hope you feel better. Over.”

“Thanks, man. I owe you one. Over,” Sokka says, feigning a cough and lowering the now silent radio.

He looks over at Suki as she clips the other radio to her belt, adjusting the suit jacket over it. “Everyone good?”

She glances at her phone. “Yup, everyone seems to be good. Pretty much everyone else managed to sneak in without taking out the guards.”

Sokka rolls his eyes. “These two might’ve stayed out here forever otherwise.”

Suki laughs quietly. “They’re cute alright. You ready to head in?”

Sokka nods.

They dust off their suits before walking closer to the manor.

oOo

Aang and Toph enter without a hitch. There are no guards in sight. Aang barely has to jimmy the lock to let them in. Overall, it’s way too easy.

Toph grumbles a bit more about being forced into a suit, but they creep further into the manor without too much trouble.

oOo

Katara is already annoyed. They’d barely walked in, when they turned the corner and walked into an extremely loquacious guard.

“I really can’t believe I’ve never seen you around before!” the chipper girl is saying now. “You’re just so damn pretty, I swear I’d remember seeing your face!”

“I honestly can’t believe we’ve never met before,” Azula says brightly.

Katara just bites her lip to stop the laughter from spilling out.

“I know! You know what? I know we’re not really supposed to…but would you like to get coffee sometime? It’s just that-“

“It’s not that I wouldn’t love to. You seem so sweet,” Azula cuts in smoothly, tugging Katara over by the wrist. “But I’m actually with this one.”

The guard’s eyes bug out. “Oh! Holy shit, I’m so sorry! I really didn’t know-“

“It’s nothing,” Katara says, lacing her fingers with Azula’s. “Seriously, you didn’t know. I’m not mad, and just between us- I’m…kind of relieved?”

The girl opens her mouth, and Katara cuts her off quickly.

“It’s just- this whole place seems really…not super gay friendly, if you know what I mean? So it’s nice to know there are other not straight people here,” she adds, lying through her teeth.

The other girl breaks into a smile. “You really must be new around here. But don’t worry, I’ll introduce you to everyone. It’ll be so nice having you around.”

Azula glances down at her phone. “I’m so sorry, but we actually have to run. Her mom is actually coming over in a couple hours…and it’s actually my first time meeting her.”

“Oh, good luck!! She’ll love you! But I won’t keep you. I’ll even cover for you if you have to duck out a bit early today. You must have so much to do when you get home.”

“Thank you-“

“Don’t thank me! Just get going! I’m totally rooting for you!”

Katara tosses one last smile over her shoulder before they run away from the wildly waving guard.

oOo

Once they’re out of earshot, Azula barks out a laugh.

“I feel like I should find this extremely weird, but honestly, this is kind of just my life now, isn’t it?”

Katara starts chuckling quietly.

“Where to now, lover?” she says finally.

Azula starts cackling again.

oOo

Where is everyone?

He hasn’t seen Uncle anywhere. He’s checked all the old rooms. There’s no sign of him. Zuko dashes around a corner and runs into someone.

oOo

Suki quickly shoots off a text when she’s managed to check a few more hallways.

The response from Aang comes in pretty soon after.

_7:19 PM If you don’t find him in maybe 20 more minutes, just head out and regroup with us at the car_

_7:20 PM Understood_

She pockets her phone and continues down the hall.

oOo

Azula walks confidently down the hall, shining her flashlight into rooms like a good little minion.

She’s run into more guards, but it’s been easier to avoid suspicion after she and Katara go in different directions.

She turns the corner and runs into a tall form.

oOo

Zuko’s this close to frying the other person before he recognizes Sokka.

The other boy grabs him by the arms to hold him upright.

“Zuko? Have you seen anyone else?”

Zuko just shakes his head. “I don’t know where anyone else went. I know we said we’d split up to try to find Uncle, but we were supposed to be out of here by now.”

“Okay, I guess we’ll just keep looking then.”

“Are you…are you getting the feeling that this was a really bad idea?” Zuko asks, rubbing the back of his head.

“A bit. Yeah,” Sokka mutters tiredly. “But we’re already here now, so we’re just going to have to keep going. And try to avoid these guards.”

Zuko chuckles a little. “Did Katara tell you about the one guard that talked their ear off?”

“You bet,” Sokka laughs quietly. “I think avoiding them might be hard. They’re just always around.”

“Can I just punch them in the head?” Zuko mutters.

“Maybe…maybe don’t do that, if you can avoid it?”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. We’re aiming for discreet.”

“Just…find your sister,” Sokka responds. “If she’s run into your father by now, she’s probably been holding out way longer than we planned. Maybe you can get him to slip your uncle’s location, too.”

Zuko nods slowly and goes to run off.

Sokka’s hand on his shoulder stops him.

“Hey, we’re going to find him.”

Zuko nods more firmly and pulls away.

oOo

_7:37 PM These guards are super fucking chatty, just fyi_

Aang fights a chuckle at Katara’s text as he scoots his phone back into his suit pocket.

“You know, I didn’t know the Fire Lord would hire blind guards? How on earth do you manage-”

“That is ableist as fuck, buddy,” Toph slides in when he takes a breath. “My partner and I have to get back to patrolling. The Fire Lord is expecting visitors any day now, and if we’re the ones to let them in…”

The other guard straightens up hurriedly. “I meant no offense-“

“Yeah, but that sure was offensive,” Aang says cheerily.

“I’m very sorry,” the guard responds, slowly backing away from Toph’s growing smile. “And I think I should get back to patrolling as well. Best of luck tonight.”

Aang nudges Toph once the guard hurries around the corner.

“You’re worth twelve of them.”

“Damn fucking straight.”

oOo

Suki ducks under the guard’s punch, elbows him firmly in the stomach, and claps her other hand over his mouth as he cries out in pain.

“You’re all just so easy,” she mutters, dodging his aimless flail towards her. “Does anyone even bother to train you?”

The guard is looking so scared now, she sighs. “Fine, fine, lights out for you, too.”

She raps him over the head.

oOo

Of course, it was only a matter of time before he ran into a guard.

He wasn’t really expecting…this.

The man is muscular and blonde and really fucking loud.

He’s been going on and on about workout routines and how these shift changes are wrecking his sleep schedule. Does Zuko see these pimples breaking out on his skin?? It’s horrible.

Zuko’s doing a respectable job of nodding his head and humming where appropriate, but he isn’t really paying attention.

“You’re just…so manly? Could…could I buy you a drink sometime?”

_Absolutely fucking not._

Zuko quickly turns around and runs away.

“No? Maybe another time then! I’m sure you’re super busy! We should work out together sometime!”

Zuko sprints the moment he’s out of sight.

oOo

She bobs and weaves away from the streaks of fire, ducking into the massive dining room.

“So good to see you, Azula,” her father crows. “You’ve come to your senses finally. Want to work on the winning side?”

She spins and severs the chandelier above his head.

“That means no!” she shouts as she sees him scurry out of the way ungracefully.

She admits she admires the sight for a tad too long and has to fling herself out of the way of his next attack.

Worth it.

oOo

Katara ducks behind another fluttering tapestry. She almost slams into that same bubbly guard.

“…hello again,” she says, fighting the urge to grimace.

“Hello! You didn’t leave yet?”

Katara pretends to look around furtively. “Just between you and me, my mom’s not really coming tonight. I’m actually going to ask my girlfriend to move in with me? It’s kind of out of the blue, but our leases are almost up, and-“

“So you just needed to get away for a second to set everything up- no, that totally makes sense! Oh, I’m so excited for you!” the girl exclaims, clapping her hands together.

Katara somehow swallows a sigh and resigns herself to her fake relationship.

oOo

Toph is getting frustrated. She and Aang have been systematically checking all the rooms upstairs. Nothing.

“Look,” she says, tugging on Aang’s sleeve. “I think we’ve done our part. All we’ve done is mosey about and talk to guards. It’s time to head back out and be the getaway car. Worst thing that happens, we’ll only have one car to take back, and it’s better if we’re there to help hustle everyone out.

Aang sighs. “You’re right. I just-“

“I know, I know, Twinkle Toes. I wanted to do something useful, too. But this is useful. We’ll get everyone out. They’re depending on us for this. So let’s just get a move on, okay?”

She can feel the shift of Aang’s sleeve when he starts leading them back the way they came.

“Yeah, let’s head on back.”

oOo

There’s lightning arcing around her.

She probably should be terrified.

She’s never felt more alive.

“What?” she screams over the sound of a hideous tapestry sizzling next to her head. “Am I supposed to be scared of a little lightning? You think you’re the only firebender to think of that, Father?”

She ducks into a large sitting room and under a table, watching her father send a sheet of flames at the a nearby armoire.

“Yes, yes, he’s _so_ brilliant. But my brother has no vision,” her father says, slamming a flaming hand onto the other side of the table. “I don’t suppose he’ll find any now. The dungeons aren’t likely to make him change his ways.”

The flames are accelerating across the table, and she’s starting to think this was a very bad plan.

“He taught you bending! And this is how you thank him?” she yells over her shoulder as she crawls away. “You locked your own brother in the dungeons?”

She’s finally managed to get within roughly thirty feet of another door leading back out into the hallway. One final scuttle, and she should be clear.

Of course, that’s when Zuko comes skidding into the room through the door.

“No, you idiot,” she hisses and throws up her hands.

She glances over at their father. He’s smiling now. He’s definitely seen Zuko. There’s a flurry of movement and lightning shoots towards her brother.

She sighs in frustration and runs the few steps to tackle Zuko back into the hallway.

“I had a plan, Zuko,” she whispers as they careen down the hall.

“Who cares about your stupid plan?” he throws back, dodging another bolt of lightning that shoots between them.

“Why won’t you stay awhile?” she hears behind them.

“Don’t think I want to,” Azula shouts. “I don’t really like what you’ve done with the place. I’m not really into this whole red and gold theme you’ve got going? It’s kind of an eyesore.”

“What she means,” Zuko adds, ushering her into another room and locking the door behind them, “Is that the place looks like shit. And your hair looks even worse than before. What’s that even supposed to be? Did something just start growing on your head and one day you gave up trying to do anything with it?”

Azula looks around for a way to exit this room, but to her horror, there’s only one door.

“Why’d you pick this place?” she whispers frantically.

“Because-“ Zuko starts.

“You had the entire house to choose from,” their father interrupts him from the other side of the locked door. “And you chose one of the few places with no way out. I don’t know if you’re brave or stupid. Doesn’t matter now, I suppose.”

Azula looks around at the plush armchairs and the bookcases pushed up neatly against the walls. She scans the fireplace, the small coffee table in the corner, and what looks to be an intact suit of armor.

She’s debating the utility of tugging at the accompanying sword while she hears a loud whooshing through the door.

“Oh, shit,” she says. “Zuko-“

“Shut up,” he whispers, lightly tapping at the walls.

“Zuko, we’re going to be flambéed any second now, and you’re tapping on walls.”

“Just trust me,” he spits out, gesturing at the other side of the fireplace. “And just start copying me on that side. We don’t have much time.”

Azula continues to mutter under her breath, but she does as instructed.

“There isn’t anything to find-“ she says, halfheartedly knocking on the wall in several places.

The fourth place she tries sounds slightly hollow to her ears, and she taps again. The whooshing outside the room is growing louder and louder, but she goes to call over her shoulder to Zuko as she pushes against the wall in triumph.

She watches as the wall with the fireplace begins to swivel.

“How cliché is this,” she grumbles.

Zuko just smirks and pulls her through into the dark.

The wall swivels back around at his touch.

“He’s kind of unbelievable, right? Who’s pretentious enough to actually live in a manor like this?” he laughs quietly, wiping some soot off his face.

Azula just elbows him in the side. “Just tell me where we’re going, Indiana Jones.”

“Did he even find any of these? I thought that was more Sherlock Holmes-“

“Shut up, _Zuzu._ Where does this go?”

“This should lead us straight to those weird old dungeons he never boarded up. I used to play down there…”

“-and our mother probably showed you this, so you could avoid getting in trouble, right?” she asks.

Zuko doesn’t answer for a second.

“Yeah. She had it built for me actually,” he says roughly. “It was a long, long, time ago.”

Azula grabs his hand and squeezes as she conjures a tiny flame to light the way.

Slowly, he squeezes back as they make their way into the gloom.

oOo

Suki circles around to another part of the manor. The guards seem to be slowly catching on to the gang’s presence, because she’s been having to fight more and talk less.

Another one turns the corner and starts scrabbling for his radio when he sees her. His cheeks flush as she walks closer.

“You don’t really want to do that,” she says.

“I’m p-pretty sure I do,” he stammers back.

“I work here,” she replies in exasperation, waving her stolen radio. “I get there are some fucking kids running around in here right now. But we can’t keep radioing in every time we run into each other. I work for the Fire Lord, same as you.”

“R-really?” he says, looking relieved. He starts lowering the radio.

“Nope,” she replies, giving him a swift tap to the side of the neck.

He crumples to the floor.

“You’re too trusting for this job, buddy,” she says after she drags him into a nearby room.

She checks her phone briefly and sighs in annoyance.

Probably time to head back.

oOo

The corridor is musty and narrow. Cobwebs hang over their heads, barely illuminated by the small flame in Azula’s hand. There’s a slight draft coming from somewhere beyond them.

“No one else found him yet?” Zuko asks quietly.

“Nah,” she responds, checking her phone again. “No texts yet. So best case scenario, they got held up somewhere. Looks like we’re on our own. We’re probably the only one that got the whole dungeon hint, too.”

They make rights and lefts and seemingly double back a few times. Azula’s already thoroughly lost, but Zuko’s still leading them steadily onwards.

There’s two flights of stairs and few more turns.

They stumble out into a long hallway lined with cells.

“…it’s…really…a dungeon,” Azula mutters.

“You’ve never been down here?” Zuko asks, making a beeline for the cells on the other side.

“Father just said they were empty. As far as I knew, he was just a shady businessman. You don’t really associate those with dungeons, do you?” she says quietly. “Nothing’s really beyond him though, is it?”

“Yeah,” Zuko replies, barely a whisper.

The stones are dusty and ill-kept, and Azula hears a steady dripping from somewhere around the corner.

They slowly continue on, careful to not make a sound.

They’re stopped by a loud _thwack._

“Really, this is some truly terrible hospitality, brother. How do you mess up tea?”

They look at each other and begin to run.

oOo

“Uncle?” Zuko shouts, skidding to a stop in front of a cell.

There’s a shattered cup against the opposite wall, tea seeping down into the stones.

He sees a figure come closer to the bars.

“Zuko? Azula?” he hears.

“Uncle!” Azula says, hurrying up and pulling a ring of keys from somewhere.

“What?” she asks when they look at her. “There was some spike in the hall with keys on it. If Father wants to act like some medieval asshole, I’ve played enough video games to know that you pick up all the shit.”

Uncle laughs when she finally gets the cell open.

“I didn’t think I would see the two of you working together any time soon.”

Azula walks closer, biting her lip. “I didn’t think we’d see you again any time soon, Uncle.”

Uncle sobers for a moment and pulls her into a hug. “It’s very good to see you, Azula.”

Zuko has time to take a shaky breath before Uncle tugs him in as well.

oOo

Eventually, Azula starts pulling the two of them down the hall, checking her phone as she goes.

“I distracted Father for a while, but we need to go. Aang, Toph, Katara, and Suki just texted. They’re all out. So they’re waiting on us and Sokka.”

“All of you came to rescue me?” Uncle says, sounding too emotional for Azula’s liking.

“No more tears, Uncle. We need to get out of here.”

“I might have a solution to that,” Uncle replies, edging in front of them.

oOo

To her pleasant surprise, Uncle leads them through the dungeon until they reach a different flight of steps. As they ascend, she hears the rumbling sounds of a car engine. She peeks her head around the corner.

“Uncle, you’re brilliant,” she says, slipping out the door and hurrying across the grounds towards the car.

They wave at Aang and file in.

It’s getting to be a tight squeeze.

oOo

“You have _got_ to be kidding me,” he yells as the guards chase him down the hall.

He’d spent ages walking around after bumping into Zuko and hadn’t seen anyone else. Not one other person. So, of course, when he’s finally trying to leave, he manages to find every fucking guard in the building.

He’s zigging and zagging and avoiding all their errant attempts at firebending.

“Your place isn’t fireproof, you morons!” he shouts over his shoulder.

Of course, no one acknowledges that.

He turns another corner…and runs into a dead end.

There’s a massive set of windows in front of him.

He can make out several people scurrying around a few stories down, hurrying to pile into a running car.

The guards rush around the corner.

He looks at them and looks back at the car below.

“I really hate doing this,” he says and dives towards the nearest window.

oOo

He hears the shattering of glass and looks up in time to see Sokka plummeting from a third story window.

“Holy fucking-“ Aang bites out, before he’s out of the car and bending.

oOo

Sokka is falling and falling and falling.

He can’t think. Can’t breathe. There’s just falling.

He doesn’t think crashing into the ground should take quite this long.

A gust of wind picks up and tugs him gently to the ground.

oOo

“What the fuck were you thinking?” he yells once Aang safely lowers Sokka to the ground.

“Zuko, it’s fine-“ Sokka starts.

“It’s not fine,” he mutters angrily. “I literally just watched you swan diving out of a fucking window. Can you fly?? Are you a fucking airbender??”

“Zuko, it’s okay-” Sokka says with a quiet sigh.

“No!” Zuko cuts the other boy off.

“No,” he repeats, softer this time. His hands keep shaking, fluttering uselessly over the damage.

Sokka just manages to tap his cheek with bloodstained fingers.

“It’s going to be fine-“

“Just shut up, Sokka! What the hell were you even thinking?” Zuko shouts, burying his head in Sokka’s shoulder, narrowly avoiding the gashes and broken glass in the other boy’s chest. “I seriously- I just can’t, Sokka. I’m not losing another person I care about-“

“Zuko,” Sokka finally bites out. “Can you let go of me for a second, so Katara can heal me? She’s being really polite and letting you cry on my shoulder, but I’d really like to stop being skewered by glass, if you don’t mind?”

Zuko’s head shoots up.

“What?”

Katara is hovering over them both and scoots closer.

Sokka tugs on his sleeve sightly in amusement.

“Katara can handle this,” he laughs. “I know you’re mad, and I’m really, truly sorry. But I need you up front to help us get out. Can you do that?”

The other boy stares at Sokka for a moment before looking up.

“You can heal him?” he asks Katara.

“Yes,” Katara says without hesitation.

Zuko squares his shoulders.

“Then I’ve got this.”

He reaches down and presses a kiss to Sokka’s palm.

“I’m so mad at you right now. But you stay alive, you hear? I don’t care that Katara is such a badass that she can fix this. You die on me, and I will find a way to resurrect you, so I can scream at you myself.”

“I hear you, boss,” Sokka salutes, but he’s smiling rather softly as Zuko takes his leave.

oOo

They make it out without too much of a fuss. It’s an extremely tight fit, but the drive is short. Aang eventually pulls up to the other cars they’d hidden.

Sokka is weaving in and out of consciousness in the backseat with Katara bending over him, healing and removing glass at a steady pace.

The rest of the gang organize themselves into the other cars, and they’re once again on the move.

Aang has his hands wrapped tightly around the steering wheel as he peals out into the countryside.

Zuko’s driving in the car ahead of him, windows rolled down in case he needs to bend in a hurry.

“Katara?” Aang asks after he hears Sokka’s snores.

“Yeah?” she asks tiredly, brushing her hair out of her face.

“I think I need to learn how to bend.”

“You’re already an airbender,” she huffs quietly to avoid waking her brother up.

“Yeah, but I’m also the Avatar, right? I can’t just let you be the only waterbender. What if something happens to you? Hypothetically, because you’re too awesome for that, but still.”

Katara is silent for moment. “I’ll teach you and Sokka as soon as you both get some rest. We’ve got some time before the Day of Black Sun and especially the Comet. Probably. But you’re not wrong.”

“Okay,” Aang says firmly, before fixing his eyes back on the road.

He glances back at the rearview mirror in time to see Katara slump tiredly against the seat.

“Hey,” he says.

She looks up. “…yeah?”

“I love you, and you’re fucking brilliant.”

He sees Katara close her eyes and smile.

“You don’t love me _because_ I’m fucking brilliant?” she chuckles.

“I’d love you even if you had Sokka’s dumbass sense of humor,” he responds.

There’s a weak, but audible _hmph._ “Wow, Aang, you lying liar who lies. We have the same sense of humor, you asshole.”

Aang whips his head towards the sound. “Sokka?”

“Eyes on the road, you dipshit!” Sokka shrieks.

Aang spins around just in time to avoid slamming into Zuko’s car.

“Yes, I’m alive,” Sokka replies. “Thanks to you and my sister here. So maybe try not to undo all your hard work?”

When Aang glances in the mirror, Sokka’s looking straight at him and weakly gives him a thumb’s up.

He sighs. “Alright, let’s go home.”

oOo

Suki and Toph are following the rest in another car.

Finally, Toph breaks the silence.

“I’m not going to deny that this technically worked. We got Iroh and everything. But I still think we should’ve waited for the actual Day of Black something. Instead…we picked literally two days after Sokka’s big Magneto or whatever reveal.”

“…yeah,” Suki says eventually. “I mean, I get that Ozai would probably expect us to show up the day all of the firebenders are the weakest, but it didn’t even seem to matter. Based on all those stupid ass guards, it sounds like they’ve been expecting us to show up for weeks.”

Toph shrugs. “I guess it doesn’t matter…but maybe, we could still use that eclipse shit? Like what’s our master plan here? What’re we actually trying to do? We’re just a bunch of college students. And this dude is the real fucking deal.”

“I really don’t know,” Suki replies. “The plan’s always been a bit ‘get Iroh back and deal with everything else later.’”

“We’re clearly the only ones with working brains right now, aren’t we? Everyone else has buckets of trauma,” Toph says wryly.

Suki laughs. “Welcome to the moderately okay side of the Gaang. It’s really lonely over here.”

oOo

Zuko hears his uncle snoring away in the backseat and feels some of the anger subside momentarily.

He looks over at Azula nursing some bruises in the passenger’s seat and weakly returns her smile.

“The gang’s all here, right?” she says.

Zuko can’t hold in his laughter.

oOo

Iroh cracks an eye open.

It’s good to hear his nephew laugh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait :( This chapter is really long though, so hope you enjoy! I'm not super confident with writing action or suspense...so this ended up being a lot of bumbling around and chatty guards? It's also a lot of characters to keep track of, so bear with the choppiness. Hope you still enjoy! Thank you all for reading and for all the kudos and comments! I really do appreciate each and every one of you! And a big thank you to the person who reminded me that Aang is also an Avatar and can learn other bending. I have to admit...I kind of totally forgot with him recuperating :( Hopefully, the way I worked it in makes some sense. And lastly, sorry for any errors as usual!


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which there is fire, some reveals, and the Avatar...ish, not necessarily in that order.
> 
> Note: some tension, but everyone's fine! Also, please read the end notes if possible! I know they're really long, but this chapter especially had a lot of stuff I wanted to mention. Thank you!

A scream of “Incoming!”

Searing heat behind him as he dives out.

There’s something dripping down his face now. His fingers come away bloody.

He lays down and doesn’t move.

oOo

Suki is tugging Toph along behind her as she sifts through the melted remains of her car.

She pats the wreckage sadly and continues on.

“Am I the only one who smells a lot of fucking oil?” Toph asks from behind her, pulling her arm over her nose.

Suki sighs, resisting the urge to do the same.

“There’s probably a million and one flammable things in here,” she mutters. “Let’s just pull the others out and get going.”

“Get going how?” Toph points out. “They kind of lightly toasted our transportation.”

Suki sighs again and pushes some hair out of her eyes. “Let’s just find the others, and we’ll worry about that later.”

oOo

They stumble upon Zuko a few minutes later. Sokka’s lying limply on the ground, head in Zuko’s lap.

Suki and Toph hurriedly kneel down next to them.

“Is he okay?” Suki asks.

“Yeah,” Zuko replies a good half-beat later. “He’s good. The idiot somehow had the presence of mind to roll out of the car, and I followed him out-“

“Nice,” Toph says.

“-and then he just muttered something about blood dripping down his face, which Exhibit A, is not that bad,” Zuko continues, pointing at a tiny trickle of blood down Sokka’s face. “And then he flopped over. So long story short, he’s just a bit unconscious at the moment, which you know, is just a tiny, insignificant problem.”

He bites out a ragged laugh. “We are so fucked.”

Toph smacks him.

“Ow, what the hell, Toph?” he says, pulling one hand away from Sokka to rub at his shoulder.

“No defeatist talk unless we lose. Your father is still a conceited dick, and conceited dicks don’t know everything.”

“He’s still a master firebender with a whole lot of minions who just sent a giant fireball that broiled Suki’s car-“

“Conceited dick!” she yells in his face. “And conceited dicks underestimate their opponents and make mistakes. So shut the hell up, have your little freak out later, and get angry, buddy.”

He looks at Suki.

“Don’t look at me,” she says. “It sucks, but we don’t have time for any more meltdowns, pun intended.”

Zuko groans as Toph reaches over for a fist bump.

“Alright, I’ll get my head on straight, but that was terrible.”

“Like it’s any better than you saying you’ll get your head on straight?” Toph says immediately.

“Yeah…Zuko, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but you’re really not straight. Like at all,” Suki smirks.

“Why are you like this?” he says, but he cracks a smile at the obvious distraction.

oOo

After a lot of rummaging, they find Azula and Iroh. Their car is actually still mostly intact with some dents from where Zuko managed to turn the wheel enough to narrowly miss the fireball.

Suki bends to shake them, and after some grumbling, they slowly stir.

“Where’s Sokka?” Azula bolts upright, almost smacking her in the forehead.

Toph answers while she helps Iroh up. “He’s…okay. Zuko’s with him. We just have to find Aang and Katara.”

“Were they in the car with Sokka?” Iroh asks, holding a hand to his aching head.

“You missed a bit,” Suki replies dryly. “Sokka rolled out of the way just in time. Zuko managed to swerve enough to for it to miss and then also dived out. You probably didn’t notice.”

“I was a little preoccupied with my brother’s incessant need to set me on fire,” Iroh agrees.

Azula laughs bitterly. “And I thought I had a bad sibling relationship.”

Her uncle sighs. “Your father has never shown much care for other people. But I am surprised that he would willingly try to kill other firebenders. There aren’t so many of us left that he would ordinarily be willing to lose even a few. Unless something changed recently.”

“All we know is that he’s been collecting firebenders and rounding up other benders. Also, the Day of Black Sun is coming up,” Toph replies. “And Lord Fuckface will probably try something after that when the Comet shows up. So until then, we’re kind of sitting ducks. It’s not like he doesn’t know where the tea shop is.”

“Ah,” Iroh says and then stops.

Suki turns to look at him questioningly.

“Nothing, nothing,” Iroh replies. “Just thought I remembered something.”

Suki eyes him contemplatively, but she chooses to let the matter drop. “Let’s go find Aang and Katara. Grab the other two and head back. We’ve got a lot to do.”

Zuko stumbles over, rubbing his shoulder and cursing.

“That fucking-” he cuts off abruptly. “What’s that?”

“Where’s Sokka?” Toph asks.

“He was still out, but I propped him up against the car, so I could come over and find out what that is,” Zuko says, pointing down at a fast approaching line of black a couple bends away on the highway.

“What?” Azula asks, rubbing her eyes.

Suki starts running.

“You mean, your fucking father?” she shrieks.

oOo

They aren’t really fast enough.

Suki’s not really surprised when fire erupts _everywhere_.

Aang and Katara manage to find their way over to the rest of them just in time.

There’s a shit ton of oil leaking out of her poor car and suddenly a sea of firebenders pouring out of dozens of black cars skidding to a stop on the highway.

Fire and oil equals….

Yeah. She’s not super enthused about their chances, but she tugs the still unconscious form of Sokka a ways behind her and gets ready to meet the first wave.

oOo

There’s just so many of these minions.

Zuko’s dodging and twisting and kicking and punching.

There’s just no end to them.

He sees Toph lift a hand and the tar around the firebenders buckles and shifts to encase them.

There’s even more coming.

He summons fire to his hands in the shape of two dao swords and continues on.

oOo

Everyone’s still engaged with the firebenders. Bobbing and weaving away from their attacks.

Honestly, they’re doing quite well.

Katara and Aang make a fearsome combination, stunning and capturing vast numbers of benders with brutal efficiency.

Suki is also clearing out massive numbers, incapacitating almost more than Toph.

But of course, it’s still not enough. There’s seemingly no end to the firebenders approaching. More and more cars are pulling up as they continue to fight.

Eventually, their father stalks towards them, blasting at friend and foe alike to reach his wayward children.

“Uh, yeah, nope. I think _fucking_ not,” he hears from behind him.

There’s the sound of rushing water, and his father is bowled over by a massive wave that circles him long enough to drag him off his feet before it slips away.

Zuko follows the receding water until he sees Sokka shakily leaning against their remaining car, arms outstretched and face grim with determination.

He manages one more onslaught that leaves Ozai hopping, before the color drains from his face.

“Oh, shit,” Sokka mutters before fainting.

Zuko hears their father begin to chuckle.

“Another little waterbender.”

Zuko dashes in Sokka’s direction, thinking their father will go for the easy target.

And of course, running leaves him wide open.

He sees Ozai’s fingers begin pointing, and he has just enough time to realize he’s in deep shit.

But then Azula slams into him, catching the lightning and redirecting it into the ground harmlessly.

There’s hair in her face, and a wild laugh tears out of her throat.

“Honestly, Father, do you ever try anything else? It’s just electrocute Zuko all day long-”

“ _Honestly_ , Azula,” Ozai says mockingly. “I don’t really know where I went wrong with you. You were always the more promising one. And I was always so good to you. I gave you everything you ever wanted. When you came to me saying you felt like a girl and that you were just born the wrong sex, I just asked you what you needed, like a _good_ father and paid for the hormones and the surgeries. I _made_ you-”

Azula turns pale, outstretched hands shaking.

“Leave that out of this. You made jackshit,” Zuko growls.

The rest of the gang absolutely heard.

Zuko just wants to start cursing up a storm.

“Did I ask for your input, _Zuzu_ -“

“No one,” comes the ominous screech from beside him, “gets to call him _Zuzu_ but me.”

Their father rolls with Azula’s punch well enough that it just catches the corner of his mouth. He spits out some blood.

“How touching,” he says. “It’s almost like you’re finally family.”

Ozai just flicks his wrist and lightning slams into Zuko’s crossed arms. He barely manages to deflect, but he goes careening to the side and topples over.

“No!” Azula screams, sending a fresh wave of fire at their father.

Ozai just casts it aside with an insignificant gesture and continues forwards until he’s standing over Zuko.

He raises an eyebrow.

“Maybe I should’ve been rid of you a long time ago.”

He lifts a hand.

A sharp wind picks up and snuffs out the flames.

oOo

Katara manages to disentangle herself long enough to look over at the growing storm.

Her brother’s in the middle, eyes white.

“You think…I’m just going to let you kill him?” he says quietly.

Ozai is looking on, something akin to greed in his eyes.

“So…” he says, licking his lips. “There _is_ a new Avatar. I was wondering. The little boyfriend. How droll.”

He raises a sheet of fire and sends it towards her brother.

Katara scrambles upright and manages to douse it before it gets close.

“Quite the little helper you have here,” Ozai says, smirk growing. “Another waterbender? There’s always too many of you. You’re like rabbits.”

“Rabbits?” she screeches. “You’ve been killing us off!”

“I haven’t been killing anyone off, you insipid little girl. But even if I was, you’d hardly be the one to prove it,” Ozai scoffs.

“Uh, yeah, nope. Insulting my sister? That’s a big mistake,” Sokka says as Katara curls her lip and sends a flurry of ice towards Ozai.

““How…sweet. She’s using ice. But what exactly are you going to do if I can melt it?” he says.

Katara rolls out of the way as the flames curl towards her, singeing her hair.

“Just stay down, girl,” Ozai says, pinching the bridge of his nose. He gestures behind him at some of the firebenders. “Would you take care of the rest already? I have business with the new Avatar.”

oOo

“I’ve been waiting to meet you,” he says edging closer.

“Yeah? You didn’t know I existed until 15 minutes ago,” Sokka taunts.

“I didn’t know it was you,” Ozai replies. “But obviously, there was an Avatar somewhere. The question was just where. And to think you just waltzed into my son’s life and now into my home without so much as a by-your-leave.”

“I mean, can you really blame me?” Sokka says, dodging an attack. “You’re kind of annoying, very homophobic, and there’s something weird growing on your face. It almost looks contagious. Are you absolutely sure that’s a beard?”

Ozai snarls and tries to close the distance.

Sokka can feel the exhaustion creeping up his spine.

He’s not sure how long he can hold on.

oOo

Not very fucking long it seems.

Zuko and Azula continue to try to help him out, but since he still doesn’t know how to use this fabulous Avatar state, it sputters and dies a few minutes later.

The look on Ozai’s face means bad news.

So, of course, that’s the last thing Sokka sees before his vision starts to swim.

oOo

Suki is pretty done with all of this.

She’s been steadily making her way closer to Sokka, so she has just enough time to rush over when Sokka goes down. She dodges Ozai’s flames, elbows him in the stomach, and then smashes her knee into his face.

She’s punching and punching, because _nobody_ treats Sokka like that, when Katara eventually pulls her away.

“I think he’s down for now,” she says. “We don’t have time to deal with him. I need to massively heal…basically everyone.”

Suki takes a deep breath in and starts to carve a path to their car.

oOo

Iroh is fighting back-to-back with her, and Toph can honestly say they make a surprisingly good team. Until she feels him stiffen.

“You good over there?” she shouts.

Iroh doesn’t answer and then he moves away.

“Hey, sir? Where’d you…oh, fuck this,” she says and continues in the direction of Sokka’s insults.

oOo

Suki’s rather busy right now.

The long black-haired guard she and Sokka had taken care of back at the manor had finally bothered to join the party.

“Remember me?” she shouts. “I was being nice earlier, so you and your boy could go home. Where’s your boy by the way?”

The guard smirks. “My partner is indeed safely at home, thanks so much for asking.”

He swings out a punch that Suki’s easily able to dodge, but he manages to wipe her feet out from under her.

She rolls away long enough to kick up and regain her footing.

“I really was rooting for you both. But now you’re unfortunately between me and my way out. So I’m going to need you to fuck off.”

The guard ducks and grins. “Can’t really oblige. But it’s nice to finally meet you. You’re quite good at fighting honestly. And you gave us quite the fucking headache back then.”

Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Iroh slowly approaching them.

Suki had time to be very impressed with Iroh’s fighting abilities against the vast number of firebenders. He’d been breathing fire at them and everything.

So she’s rather taken aback when she sees him walking towards them in a daze.

“Lu Ten?” she hears him say.

The guard freezes imperceptibly, but he continues fighting against her without any issue. Easily the best of the firebenders and Ozai’s minions she’s seen.

Iroh is speeding up now, she notices in alarm.

“My son?” she hears. “Lu Ten?”

The guard sighs in frustration.

“Who the hell is Lu Ten?” he snaps, before sending a wall of flame at them.

Suki doesn’t have any other choice and regretfully ducks, barely managing to pull Iroh out of the way.

When she looks back, the guard is gone.

oOo

They somehow make it back to the last car, managing to evade the firebenders. Truthfully, the moment Ozai was sufficiently trounced, the firebenders were more concerned with collecting him and scurrying off back to the manor.

Somehow, Katara manages to shove everyone into the car, drive it back to the tea shop, and hurry everyone inside.

She doesn’t remember who brings her a bucket of water, but she sets to work healing.

oOo

Iroh remains quiet while she heals everyone and chooses to retire after both his niece and nephew are pronounced exhausted, but in fair condition.

“It’s not that I don’t appreciate you coming to my rescue,” he says quickly, directed at Katara given she’s the only one truly awake right now. “But I haven’t gotten a proper night’s sleep since I left. These old bones can only take so much. I would like to talk to you all more soon, but it seems like I will be seeing you around quite a bit.”

He squeezes Zuko’s shoulder on the way up.

Katara stares after him for a moment before shrugging.

It’s not her business if he wants to avoid awkward conversations right now.

oOo

Suki joins her at some point to keep her company as she continues to bend.

She’s facing away from the healing muscle and sinew of Aang’s hand.

“Did you see Iroh towards the end there?” she eventually says.

Katara continues to weave the water up and over the fractured bones.

“When he said something about Lu Ten?” she asks calmly.

“Yeah,” Suki replies. “He looked like he’d seen a ghost.”

“Was this the son or something?”

“Maybe?” Suki says. “I don’t remember if Sokka told us much about him. Just vague stuff, I think, because then Azula went missing.”

“Iroh disappeared up those stairs rather quickly,” Katara remarks.

Suki rests a hand on her shoulder for a moment. “There’s always so much we don’t know, right?”

Katara leans into the hand. “At least you bought us some time by bashing Ozai’s face in.”

Suki laughs.

oOo

Azula eventually wakes up and tries to fight back the anxiety clawing at her throat.

She’s so tempted to just follow her uncle.

Just as she’s about to sneak for the stairs, she feels Suki’s fingers thread between her own.

“I know you’re nervous,” she says quietly. “And you’re under no obligation to, but if you’re willing, please give them a chance.”

Azula sighs.

“Five minutes. And if I don’t like what they have to say, I’m out.”

Suki presses a kiss to her cheek.

“I love you.”

“Love you, too,” Azula manages, but her voice sounds raw.

oOo

“So it wasn’t really an appropriate time earlier, but uh, your father kind of outed you a bit there, Azula,” Aang pulls her aside once he wakes up. The rest of the gang are scattered around the tea shop in various states of repose.

Azula rests her head in her hands for a moment.

“I would’ve told you eventually-“ she starts apologetically.

“Nope,” Katara says, leaning around Aang while the rest of the gang slowly start to get up on the other side of the tea shop. “I’m just going to cut you off there.”

“What…for?” Azula replies.

“Just nope,” Aang repeats, waving the splinted hand between them before wincing.

“Nope?” Azula repeats, sounding bewildered.

“Nope,” Katara replies, wiping hands with a napkin. “You want to come out to us as trans, bi, aro, ace, as a fucking tree, you get to do it on your own time. I know it’s not ideal, because that asshat basically just deprived you of when and how we find out. But it’s your choice when and how you’d like to tell us more. And it’s also valid to not say any more at all.”

“You’d really be okay with that?” she asks as she continues to squeeze the life out of Suki’s hand.

“Of course,” Katara says matter-of-factly. “Most of us have come out about something by this point. But I guess we never really got a chance to catch you up.”

“Like I don’t really use labels,” Aang says. “I thought I was straight for a very long time, but let’s just say…I spent way too much time being very attracted to people who were absolutely not female. But I spent a long time denying it. Until one day, Katara casually commented on how hot our RA was and I unthinkingly said, ‘hell fucking yes, they’re so hot.’”

“You should’ve seen his face,” Katara cackles. “He got so quiet for a second and started babbling about how he’d never cheat on me even if he liked more than one gender and that of course, he really loved me.”

Aang grins at her. “You told me to get rid of that biphobic shit-“

“Or I’d never kiss you again,” she says with satisfaction.

Aang sobers slightly. “But she helped me get into therapy, so I could start working through some internalized homophobia stuff. I just was very convinced I was straight and didn’t know how to readjust my entire worldview. It’s fucked up, but it was like being anything other than straight was fine, but it was for other people. And then I never really found a label that worked for me, so I don’t tend to talk about it much.”

“And that’s totally fine,” Katara says firmly. “And Aang was really great about helping me deal with being demisexual. I barely knew anything about the whole aro/ace side of things. When we started dating, I was really scared that he would realize that…I wasn’t actually attracted to him. Like romantically, everything was great. But there wasn’t any sexual attraction and I was getting terrified. But the longer we spent together and the closer we became, I did start becoming more and more attracted to him. And he was really patient and let me work through things at my own pace. There was zero expectation that we’d sleep together. It was just an option if we ever wanted to.”

“The point being,” Aang says. “We can’t speak to your specific experiences, but we’d love to hear about it sometime if you ever want to share.”

“Thanks for telling me- both of you. I don’t know that I really want to get into everything now,” Azula says after a moment. “But I got lucky in a way. I wanted to transition and our father was…actually very okay with it. I asked him why once, and he said gender is a construct, but homosexuality is a behavior. And he’s totally fucking wrong, but…I wasn’t above using that to my advantage. Transitioning, for someone who chooses to have hormone replacement therapy and then surgeries can be...”

“-unfairly fucking expensive, especially if you’re forced to do it out of pocket,” Aang finishes.

“Yeah, exactly. And it’s not like someone’s less trans if they can’t have those options, but money shouldn’t be a factor in whether you decide to pursue those options,” Katara says. “It makes me so mad. If you want your outside appearance to better fit how you perceive yourself, and surgeries or hormones or whatever will help you, you should be able to get it, no questions asked. Sorry, keep going.”

“You’re good,” Azula replies, ripping a napkin apart slowly. “A lot of the time, you have to have documented proof from a psychiatrist that you’ve been suffering from gender dysphoria for over a year and for some places, it’s even longer. It’s just insane. And our father is a fucking asshole, but just not about this. And sometimes, it gets me really upset that I still needed his money for all the treatments. So when he says he made me…”

“Hey,” Katara interrupts. “He made absolutely none of you. His money might have benefitted you, but you were already just as female as I am long before he knew about it. He just wasn’t a complete and utter human dumpster fire for five whole seconds.”

“First time for everything, right?” Azula laughs wetly, wiping at her eyes roughly.

“Sounds like it was the first and last time,” Aang replies, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “But I just want to be super mushy and clear. You’re one of us. We already loved you. You being trans just means we learned more about you. I’m sure everyone else will tell you when they get a chance, but we just wanted to hop on this before you had too much time to agonize about it.”

Azula smiles shakily. “…thanks. It really does mean a lot.”

“And I mean, you were already the coolest girl we know. So literally nothing’s changed,” Toph says, suddenly leaning over the back of the chair.

Sokka appears at her side. “We were totally not eavesdropping in this loud and echoing room. And sorry, Katara, but Toph’s right. Azula is hands down the coolest.”

“No, no,” Katara laughs. “I totally agree, too.”

Suki finally breaks her silence. “I mean, I already knew and everything, but for what it’s worth, you’re hot as fuck, and I love you.”

Azula turns to kiss Suki briefly. “Thanks, everyone. I…really appreciate it.”

She sees her brother hovering, and the stupid dork just gives her a grin and a big thumb’s up over Aang’s shoulder.

Azula just beams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few orders of business:  
> 1\. I'm so sorry for the wait for this chapter! Real life really caught up with me. This chapter didn't quite turn out the way I wanted, but I hope you'll still enjoy it.  
> 2\. If there are inconsistencies in this fic, I'm so so sorry, I really tried to fix them.  
> 3\. Some characters might be OOC, but I needed one asshole father and representation is important to me. I can't authentically describe the experiences of all orientations, so I mainly touched on the medical side of transitioning here, which I do know quite a bit about. That being said, I'm still cisgender, so if anything I have included in here is wrong, offensive, or makes you uncomfortable, please let me know so I can change it. I also want to point out that while the trans character in here presents as very feminine, trans women are extremely valid and 1000% still just as much women as a cisgender woman (if that's the gender that works for them) regardless of whether they present as feminine or masculine, both, or neither.   
> 4\. Just wanted to add that ALL trans people, regardless of gender and whether they choose to medically transition are valid. So I see all of you trans women, trans men, and trans folk, that also identify as non-binary, agender, genderfluid, and any other labels I may have missed. You’re all fucking phenomenal, and I wish you all the best.  
> 5\. If the representation doesn't sit well with you, because you don't see these characters identifying this way or they don't make sense in this fic for you, I'm sorry. I'm just writing this for fun, and I hope you still enjoy!  
> 6\. I also want to say Happy Ace Week! We’ve got a character on the ace spectrum, but it’s such a broad spectrum, I wanted to say I see you all, and you're extremely valid and loved. If I try mentioning every other orientation, we’re going to be here even longer, but you’re all amazing. And I haven’t even touched on the aromantic spectrum.  
> 7\. Anyway, thank you again for reading, commenting, bookmarking, and leaving kudos! You're all wonderful and I love you all so much! Hope you enjoy this chapter!


	24. Chapter 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which there are some explanations, some silence, and everyone eventually gets some sleep.

They’d piled into the apartment above the tea shop willingly enough after the stress of the last day, leaving beds for those either truly injured or truly exhausted. Everyone had unanimously decided Katara would get a bed, and they hustled Aang in after her despite his protests.

Laying on his back isn’t working. Laying on his side isn’t going to work. He wants to scream, and it’s not from residual pain either.

“Can’t fall asleep?” Aang asks eventually after ages of agonizing silence.

Katara huffs a sigh. “Nope.”

“What’s on your mind?” he says.

“Everything?” she laughs.

“Yeah,” Aang replies, not even cracking a smile.

Katara sobers quickly. “I don’t feel like we’re getting anywhere. And I’m getting worn out. Sure, we got Iroh back, and that’s a win. But we don’t know what Ozai’s planning, and Iroh’s keeping secrets.”

“What do you mean?” he asks, gingerly rolling over to face her.

“I don’t even know. But Suki mentioned something about Lu Ten?”

“The…son?”

“Yeah,” Katara responds. “I don’t know that much about him either. But apparently, Iroh thought one of the guards was his son and was running right towards them. Suki had to pull him out of the way.”

“He was also long upstairs by the time most of us woke up, right?”

He sees Katara twisting some hair around her finger. “I’m not saying there’s anything fishy about this, but I think he’s not telling us or even Zuko and Azula, everything. And I think he knows more about what Ozai is planning.”

Aang hums in response. “We don’t know shit, do we?”

“Absolutely nothing,” Katara sighs.

“I’m just worried that we’re not going to know what Ozai’s planning until it’s too late. I’m just trying to make it through college, Katara. I don’t know how to do all this shit. I should be used to it by now, but I’m still just sitting around wondering-”

He sighs for a moment. “Because there’s kind of no one else. We’ll figure out some way through this, but it’s going to be shit for…”

“…a really long time,” she finishes.

“We just keep having the same conversation every night,” he groans.

“I mean, I’d rather we talk about it than bottle it up,” she says matter-of-factly.

Aang’s quiet for a moment. “Promise you’ll tell me if this gets to be too much to handle?”

“It’s already too much,” she laughs. “But we’re in this now. My brother, your best friend, Zuko, Azula, you. Suki just punched Ozai in the face. We can’t just back out of this now.”

He just nods, because what else is there to really say?

oOo

Sokka manages not to say anything the entire time they change and head to Zuko’s room.

He feels like one huge bruise already, and he just doesn’t have the presence of mind to talk about everything that went down.

“Listen-“ he starts right before they climb into bed.

“Can we just-“ Zuko says.

“You go ahead,” Sokka says finally after a moment of awkward silence.

Zuko runs a hand through his hair. “There’s a lot we have to talk about, but I think we just need some time to just…”

“Chill,” Sokka finishes.

Zuko nods.

“Look,” Sokka says after he sits down on the bed. “I’m totally on board with talking things out later, because we’re both exhausted and there’s just so much. But I just want to say I’m sorry. I’m not sorry that jumping out of the window worked. And I’m definitely not sorry that bending worked today and helped draw attention away from you. I can’t even say I wouldn’t do either of those again. But I’m sorry that I worried you.”

“I wanted to say I’m sorry, too,” Zuko says as he sits down on the opposite side and pulls his foot up to face Sokka. “I didn’t mean to get on your case that much. I’m not happy that you took so many risks, but I guess I was just worried. And I know you’re not an idiot. You wouldn’t take risks with absolutely no chance of surviving, but…”

“No, you were worried, and you weren’t wrong that I’m reckless,” Sokka argues.

“I was just really scared,” Zuko responds, reaching over to grab Sokka’s hand. “Even though we got them back, I still watched Azula and Uncle get taken basically right in front of my eyes. And I couldn’t even do anything to stop it. And now I watched you, and it kind of all just became too much.”

Sokka threads their fingers together and leans in. “How about we’re both right? You had super valid reasons, and I think I definitely have stuff to work on.”

“This isn’t a one-sided thing though,” Zuko says in frustration. “I know I have to be less anxious. You had it handled at least somewhat.”

“Okay, I’m going to be honest. I just got really lucky today. But what I did worked, even though I could stand to be more careful. Maybe even let more people in on the plan. Rely on people more, that whole jazz. I think one of the easiest ways to at least give you some peace of mind is to work on my bending. So if, and I mean that as a very big if, this kind of thing happens again, at least you know that I can protect myself.”

“What happened to not talking about this now?” Zuko laughs.

Sokka just sighs and doesn’t bother responding as he pulls Zuko down until they’re comfy on the bed. Ensconced in Zuko’s many blankets, he’s arranged the two of them so he’s draping himself over Zuko quite dramatically. His boyfriend huffs and wraps an arm around him.

“You comfy?” Zuko asks in amusement.

“Yes,” Sokka replies glibly.

Zuko just chuckles and slowly removes Sokka’s ever-present hair tie.

Sokka falls asleep to Zuko quietly running his fingers through his hair.

oOo

“So there’s a big fucking elephant in the room,” Toph says with no warning when they all eventually wander into the living room the next morning.

“Who’s Lu Ten?” she asks unceremoniously.

Iroh pauses on his way to pour tea for everyone. He blearily rubs his eyes and nods.

Zuko looks over at his uncle, but he stays quiet.

Iroh finishes the tea quietly, dries his hands on a towel, and brings a tray across the apartment.

“He is my son,” he says abruptly after everyone’s spent entirely too long feigning interest in the hardwood.

“You have a son?” Azula asks, looking like she’s not quite sure what to do with that information.

“Not anymore,” Iroh says, but his voice trembles slightly.

Azula just stares at him.

Iroh does an impressive job pretending he doesn’t see the look, but eventually, he clears his throat.

“This is a long story, but perhaps it is time you hear of it.”

He takes a sip of tea, looks up at the young faces dotted around the apartment, and looks back down.

“Twenty years ago, the firebenders were ruled by Lord Sozin. Back then, the region was still called the Fire Nation, even though the term has since fallen out of favor. Your grandfather was a strong ruler in many ways,” he says, nodding towards Azula and Zuko. “The firebenders were even at their peak at that time. But your grandfather was not a kind man. His goal was not to completely overthrow the other benders as some might have supposed. He only wanted to wear them down enough that he could manipulate situations to his own benefit. Over time, he accrued more and more power, but far more quietly than your father. He would pick off the occasional bender surreptitiously enough that the rest of the bending world was left wondering if they really disappeared. In this way, the airbenders were quietly decimated. The waterbenders had gone into hiding. So he sent some firebenders to infiltrate Ba Sing Se.”

“Wait, _the_ Ba Sing Se? Like the city we’re in, Ba Sing Se?” Aang blurts out.

“Yes,” Iroh says simply. “It might seem like a normal city now, but twenty years ago, it was one of the greatest cities of benders ever seen. Of course, the civilians knew nothing of the existence of bending, but then benders have always had their ways of hiding. Even so, a vast majority of the qualified earthbenders in the world had gathered to this city.”

“I can confirm that at least,” Toph pipes up. “King Bumi was definitely here at that point, and he’s a master bender.”

“How do you know King Bumi?” Iroh asks, sounding amazed. “He has been missing since that time.”

“He, uh,…owns a gym in the area.”

“….a gym?”

“A gym,” Toph says smugly. “Anyway, keep going.”

Iroh just shakes his head, but he continues after using a small flame to reheat his tea. “None of those firebenders returned. I have long suspected that my brother had something to do with it. I went to Lord Sozin and asked him to investigate. But I had no proof. And then a few months later, Lord Sozin started becoming weaker and weaker. I would find him ranting to thin air about how his own sons were turning on him. And he kept declining until one day, they found him on the floor, dead. My brother took over as the Fire Lord while I was out of town on business. He kept raving that the earthbenders had snuck in and killed our father. I was not there to stop him, so he sent my son, Lu Ten, to infiltrate them. He peddled it as the greatest honor when I returned. But how was a fifteen-year-old, even one as accomplished as Lu Ten, supposed to truly infiltrate the great city of Ba Sing Se?”

“And my fears were not unfounded. My brother came to me and said that the earthbenders had killed Lu Ten and left him as an example. But I know my son was smart enough to not to engage the earthbenders. He knew that he could sneak in, hover around to gather enough scraps of information to appease the new Fire Lord, and creep away long enough to escape. So it made no sense that he would have done anything rash enough for the earthbenders to suspect him,” Iroh says after clearing his throat.

“Whatever it is, I did not believe my brother. There was no body, no sign of a struggle, no sign that the earthbenders had even known of his existence. I looked everywhere for my son, but there were no signs of him. After years of searching, there was no more I could do. I further distanced myself from the Fire Nation and continued to focus on making and selling tea with the hopes that someday I would be able to find some evidence of what happened to my son. You were both too young to remember any of this, so I just let it lie. There was nothing for twenty years, so I am not sure how I saw him today. It might not be him. He did not recognize me. But regardless, I am sorry I never told you sooner.”

No one moves for a moment, but his niece and nephew quietly put their arms around him as tears begin to fall down his face.

oOo

Everyone decides to give the small family some space. Aang takes charge and delegates people to go home to grab some essentials to continue camping out in the apartment. Suki does a few grocery runs and Katara calls for some takeout. Between them, everyone’s situated to stay for a few days if need be. It seems like everyone could use the support now.

It’s not that it’s particularly comfortable having this many people over. But after everything, it’s nice to be able to immediately know that everyone’s okay and alive and right there actively not dying.

Zuko again offers to let people stay in his room tonight, but Aang takes one look at him and shakes his head.

“I think it’s just you and Sokka again tonight. Azula and Suki can take the next one. And Toph can stay with us.”

Katara wraps an arm around her. “Sleepover?”

“Hell, yeah,” Toph says, rubbing her hands excitedly.

Aang gives one last smile at Zuko before herding the two girls away.

Zuko sees Toph take a quick detour towards Suki before he shakes his head and goes to the kitchen.

oOo

“We’re kind of the wonder duo, aren’t we?” Toph says as she leans over the couch.

“The only ones not steeped in trauma, you mean?” Suki replies, putting away the scarf she’s working on.

“You still have time to knit with all this going on?” Toph asks, plopping down next to her and pulling her feet up.

“Not really,” Suki laughs. “But if I don’t do something with my hands right now, I’ll go insane. So even if it’s just a few stitches, I’d rather not be thinking of this shit show.”

“What do you think of the whole Lu Ten thing?”

“It’s fucked up.”

“Do you…nah, never mind,” Toph says.

“No, what’s up?” she responds.

“…not trying to be an asshole or anything, but…do you think it’s the whole story?” Toph asks carefully.

Suki rubs her fingers over the pattern of the unfinished scarf a few times. “Nope. It’s definitely not the whole thing. I don’t know if that’s just because it’s already traumatizing enough and he just wants some things to remain private, or if he’s just leaving things out for Zuko and Azula’s sake, or if it’s something else entirely. All of those are valid and all, but if that’s actually Lu Ten…”

“He’s not exactly on our side at the moment,” Toph replies.

“I don’t know if he’s even on Ozai’s side,” Suki responds. “And he didn’t seem anything like the flirty guard Sokka and I knocked out earlier. Like I get that we didn’t observe him for very long, but I’m telling you whoever this guy is, he can fight. And he’s going to be a problem if we’re really trying to take down Ozai.”

“Captain Fancy Pants seems like he could be more of a threat than Ozai.”

“You think so?” Suki asks.

“I don’t know,” Toph says. “Maybe. But the real question is, if he’s as good as you say, why’s he working for Ozai? The son that Iroh talks about could’ve just been really young and didn’t know any better. But I feel like that’s a cop out. He didn’t sound like an idiot. And it’s been twenty years.”

“So you’re saying that maybe it’s not voluntary?”

“I have no idea,” Toph says, lifting her hands up. “All I’m saying is that things are still fishy with him. Whatever it is, we should just keep our eyes open and get everyone here better at fighting in the meantime. You did a number on Lord Fuckface’s face, so we’ve bought ourselves some time. But it’s still not a lot.”

“Yeah, fair enough. We need a Disney montage to upgrade our skills,” Suki laughs.

“You mean, Sokka and Aang need a montage,” Toph smirks. “We’re already perfection.”

oOo

“What was that?”

The Fire Lord glares at him.

The effect is ruined by the smattering of purple bruises and cuts across his face.

“What was that, my Lord?” Lu Ten amends mockingly.

“He is the Avatar after all,” the other man finally responds, “No one said it would be easy to defeat him.”

It’s always entertaining to stop by and annoy the Fire Lord, but especially today. “You still got beaten by some college students. That’s just a little embarrassing for your whole image.”

The Fire Lord struggles to sit up in bed. He has to pause to hold his ribs for a moment, looking like he’s silently cursing. “If you’re not going to give any proper advice, feel free to leave.”

Lu Ten chuckles and crosses his arms.

“I could give you some proper advice, but it looks like you can’t even move. Did you get in a fight? Did somebody punch you?” he asks gleefully.

His esteemed leader snarls, raising a hand from the bedspread.

He just laughs and dodges the attack.

“What are those supposed to be?” he smirks. “Am I supposed to be afraid of a few sparks?”

He’s probably enjoying this a bit too much, so he finally settles down against the doorframe for a moment. “Just…rest up, I guess. We’re licking wounds on both sides right now. But we’ll get there. We’re getting closer. You’ll have what you want soon.”

“Is this your way of trying to be reassuring?”

Lu Ten shudders. “Reassure you? Why on earth would I do that? I’m just saying all hope isn’t lost. We’ll get there eventually and so on. So sit tight.”

There’s silence for a moment.

Lu Ten isn’t particularly good with silence and can never resist poking sore wounds. “You good, my Lord? Did the college students scare you into-”

“Get out,” Lord Ozai says lowly.

Lu Ten snickers, but he obediently walks away, humming lowly under his breath.

oOo

“Hey.”

“How you doing there, buttercup?” Toph asks, sliding into a chair across from her.

Azula continues to pass her once-warm mug back and forth between her hands.

“I’m alright,” she says finally. “How about you?”

“Okay, I guess,” Toph responds before snatching the mug from Azula’s hands and replacing it with a freshly brewed one.

“Oh…thanks,” Azula responds.

“On the house,” Toph smirks. “Your brother needed to keep his hands busy, I guess. He’s been making buckets of tea all day. I was starting to think he was trying to flood the place.”

She hums in acknowledgement.

“Look,” Toph starts. “There’s a lot going on, but how are you doing with the whole ‘you have an evil not-so-dead cousin’ reveal?”

“I have no idea what to think,” she says. “Firebenders ruled by the Fire Lord, I get. But our cousin working for our father twenty years later after supposedly dying? Whatever the hell happened to him, it was obviously supposed to bring Uncle more in line.”

“That one kind of failed,” Toph muses.

“Just a bit,” Azula responds. “I guess disappearing to make tea was good enough for Father’s purposes. He probably just wanted him out of the way somehow. So now, I don’t know what to think. What does Father want now? It can’t be as simple as world domination. Like sure, that’s probably a nice eventual goal, because he’s an idiot. But why’s he tracking down the Avatar for that? He’s got enough manpower that he’s already got most of the Fire Nation under his grasp. The other benders are mostly wiped out or swooped up by him. He doesn’t need an Avatar under his thumb to handle any of this-”

“What would happen if, hypothetically, Aang died again, or just if the Avatar in general, forget who. What if their heart stopped and they came back? And then what if you repeated that?” Toph interrupts.

“Like would he make more Avatars that way?” Azula asks.

“Yeah,” Toph says. “Or maybe not even Aang. Just steal the latest Avatar, keep stopping his heart until you have…”

“…an entire army of Avatars? That sounds stupid.”

“Your father’s got the brain of a mosquito though.”

“That’s fair.”

They mull it over for a few more moments before Azula drains her mug and gets up.

“Come on, I don’t have enough tea for this conversation.”

Toph laughs, but she willingly follows along.

oOo

It’s late. Almost pushing 2am. Everyone had given them space for most of the day, muddling through takeout until they could fall asleep.

Azula’s back to staring into space.

She feels someone plop down next to her, and the couch sinks in briefly.

“Too much on your mind?” he asks.

“Yeah,” she says absentmindedly. “Suki was knitting furiously, so I came out here for a bit.”

“Makes sense. I just didn’t want to wake up Sokka,” Zuko says before lapsing into silence.

This one though, this one is comfortable.

It’s just her and her brother chilling.

It’s nice.

“I don’t say this much,” she says, not looking at him entirely. “But I’m really proud of you.”

“That’s my line,” her brother says immediately.

“No, no, just give me a second,” she replies, flipping her hair over her shoulder. “I honestly feel like we’re ten steps behind our father and we have no idea what’s going on. Uncle’s not telling us something. But you- you’re constantly being bombarded by new info, a new relationship, lots of new friends. But you’re not just hanging in there. I know it probably feels like you’re struggling, but you’re doing really well. I can see you coming out of your shell more and more every day.”

“It just took the everything else coming apart at the seams to get there, right?” Zuko says wryly.

“Shut up, Zuzu,” she responds fondly. “I’m being nice.”

Zuko chuckles. “I know. It’s weird.”

Azula pretends to shove him off the couch for a few moments, but eventually, they settle back in with her arm looped around his.

“I’m just really happy that we have the gang in our lives. And not just because they’ve saved our asses a few times,” she says finally. “They’ve really helped you be more yourself than I think you’ve gotten to be in years.”

Zuko shakes her arm off and pulls her into a hug.

There’s only the barest moment of hesitation this time before she reciprocates.

“You know, that was almost not awkward,” he laughs, dodging when she swats at him.

oOo

Eventually, they both return to their rooms. Zuko smiles at her before closing the door.

“Everything alright?” Sokka asks, startling him.

“Holy shit, Sokka,” he says, barely stopping himself from roasting his own bed.

“Sorry,” the other boy yawns. “You good though?”

“Yeah,” Zuko says eventually as he climbs back into bed. “Just Azula.”

“How’s she doing?” Sokka asks, scooching closer and pulling the comforter over Zuko.

“Alright, I guess. It’s just one thing after another and she doesn’t think we have any idea what’s going on. I kind of agree.”

“So you got the same feeling?”

“Like that wasn’t the whole story somehow? Yeah,” Zuko sighs.

Sokka pulls him closer silently.

“I just don’t know what to think. Where the hell has Lu Ten even been for the past twenty years? Uncle is pretty good at finding people, so how was he that well-hidden? What the hell has Father even been doing? Just chilling? And what are you going to do? You have to somehow learn bending, so he doesn’t just kidnap you, too-“

“Hey, hey, Zuko, look at me,” Sokka cuts him off. “Take a deep breath.”

Zuko complies reluctantly.

“We can’t fix any of that right now. I know everything sucks, and I’m sorry that it seems like we just can’t catch a break.”

Zuko is quiet for a bit longer. “Yeah. But you know, I don’t know if I’ve said this yet, but I’m really happy you’re here. You’ve kind of been dragged into my family drama-“

“I’m just going to stop you there,” Sokka smiles ruefully. “Aang’s my family, too. At some point, your father was going to find him. It was just a matter of time. So you have to stop blaming yourself for things your family’s done to mine.”

Zuko smiles briefly. “I’m trying. How are you doing though? You’re kind of the boss man now.”

Sokka raises an eyebrow knowingly, but he goes along with the obvious subject change willingly enough. “Not completely terribly. It’s a slow process, I guess. I don’t think I’ve really wrapped my head around being the new Avatar. I still just feel like me. The only difference is that I can suddenly bend all sorts of shit.”

“’Bend all sorts of shit’ is an advanced technique,” Zuko says with a straight face. “At best, you’re at the ‘send up red sparks’ stage.”

Sokka kisses him until he stops smirking.

oOo

Azula is kissing down her neck, pausing only to pull the T-shirt over Suki’s head.

“You’re just way too hot,” she says, running her hands through Suki’s hair to flatten it down.

“I feel like you’re doing this in the wrong order,” Suki smirks as she leans against the bed. “Aren’t you supposed to be taking my shirt off?”

Azula just laughs. “There’s a million and one other people in this place. And I feel like it would a little weird to sleep with you while they’re all here.”

Suki sighs. “You’re right.”

She presses a kiss to the corner of Azula’s mouth and lifts the covers to climb into bed.

“Fucking save me from this UST,” Azula mutters quietly before joining her.

Suki still hears her though and won’t stop laughing even when Azula throws a pillow at her head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay :( This chapter is quite a bit of everyone trying to deal with the past day. If characters are OOC, I apologize. As always, just trying my best. Hope you enjoy this chapter! Thank you all for reading, commenting, leaving kudos, and bookmarking! You're all fantastic, and I'm wishing you a wonderful holiday season. Stay safe <3


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